


Fures et Machina

by ShadowOA



Series: Unity [3]
Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-03-01 00:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18789433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowOA/pseuds/ShadowOA
Summary: Akechi's testimony to Sae brought with it some light about some of the other dirty dealings the United Future Party was doing behind the scenes. When deaths connected with a Evoker styled gun crop up, alongside an appearance of a new Anti-Shadow Weapon long thought to have been missing,  the Persona users must band together to solve this case and put an end to the remnants of Shido's influence once and for all. No matter the risk.





	1. A Heartless Tin Man

The streets of Tokyo are quiet during evening. Summer break has ended for Japanese school goers and with that, classes are now in session. The moon is rising high into the clouds to illuminate the streets below, as a slim figure crosses the crosswalk calmly as they approach the police headquarters. 

 

“Excuse me, ma’am. But do you have business here?” An officer asks. “It’s late, shouldn't you be home?”

 

“My reason for being here does not concern you. Step away from the door and allow me access.” A male voice states, serious yet slightly annoyed. 

 

“Sorry sir, but we can’t just have any person waltz into the police station you know. Are you visiting a prisoner? Or do you need to report an incident?”  The second officer states.

 

“If it will get you to move, I am here to speak with the man who was once aiming to be Prime Minister. I am...an acquaintance of his.” He adjusts a pair of glasses resting on his face, dusting off the coat on his body. 

 

“You wish to talk to Shido?” The two officers look at eachother, before looking back.

 

“Do not stall. My time can’t be wasted any longer then it already has.” The young man sounds annoyed, crossing his arms. “Allow me access.”

 

“Show us some ID, and then we’ll consider it.” The first officer says.

 

“So much foolishness.” He reaches into a holster, and draws what looks like an evoker before pointing a finger at a nearby security camera...destroying it with a bullet. 

 

“Wh-What are you?!” 

 

“My name is Zagreus, and I am the last thing you shall see.” 

 

Two gun shots ring out in the area before a door is destroyed. 

 

“Shido-san, I request that you come quietly. You have information that is most useful to my cause.”

 

Shido says nothing, but compiles nonetheless. This pleases the young machine like young man as he chuckles.

 

.Zagreus starts to head out, before observing some other cells. 

 

“Hmm...you all are also victims of the Phantom Thieves. I do not have enough data on them.” He walks to each cell and opens the door. “If any of you wish to live to a decent age, you will comply with my demands. “

 

He guides his freed captives to a car and begins a call as he drives. 

 

_ “Have you obtained the intel needed, Zagreus?” _

 

“I shall obtain what we need my own way. Your proposition failed so I had to send a message.”

 

_ “What do you mean?” _

 

“The police are weak willed, this will be motivation to gain better men. I am returning to base, Dr. Hayai.” 

 

“Zag, wai-” But before he can finish, the young man hangs up on him.

 

“Constant conversation is such a nuisance…”

 

_ The Nijima Residence, that next day _

 

Makoto steps into the door of the home, removing her shoes and dusting her clothing off. “Sis, I’m home!”

 

“Sae-san is currently out. She mentioned something about an errand.” A familiar voice states, walking into view. 

 

“Akechi?! Why the hell are you here?” Makoto is taken back a bit, getting into a fighting stance. 

 

“Now, is that anyway to treat a guest? Your sister offered me shelter in exchange for helping out with this investigation with the missing Anti-Shadow Weapon.” Akechi takes a seat on the couch as he speaks.

 

“And I’m guessing you’re homebound until this ends?” Makoto sighs, annoyed. 

 

“Well if I were to be out in public, people would know my face and demand answers for my absence.”

 

Sae walks in and sees Makoto. “Oh, I didn’t think you’d be home until later today.”

 

“I finished up with Ann and Ryuji’s tutoring early. I swear, they actually are serious this time...which makes me kinda happy as their friend.” Makoto chuckles. “But more importantly,  _ why didn’t you say something about Akechi staying with us? _ ”

 

“If I told you prior, you would have objected. Plus no one else can house him safely.” Sae sighs. “I’m taking a huge risk as is, given they know my involvement with the Phantom Thieves.”

 

“It’s for the investigation...right?” Makoto shakes her head, not really wishing to argue about this. “Well, I’m still not happy with this but we do have to figure out something about this Omicron project. “  

 

Akechi takes out a laptop from a bag and logs into it, going over something before pausing. “Both of you, take a look at this.” 

 

Makoto and Sae stand on either side of him and look over at the article on the screen. “Mysterious Attack at Tokyo Police HQ. Two officers found dead with a gun left behind.” Makoto reads, covering her mouth soon after. 

 

“But look at the gun closely, it looks like an Evoker that Mitsuru’s team uses right?” Akechi zooms in on the image. 

 

“We would need to get a hold of that gun to make sure. But, those guns don’t kill. They’re just catalysts for summoning Persona.” 

 

“Contact the Shadow Operatives, Makoto. I’m going to head to the station to investigate.” Sae starts to grab her purse, only for Akechi to stop her.

 

“Don’t be an idiot, Sae-san. What if this is Omicron?”

 

“I hate to say this, but he has a point. If this is connected to Shido’s followers then Omicron would be likely.” Makoto nods. 

“Then how do we expect to get any new intel?” Sae huffs.

 

“I’ll contact Futaba.” Akechi smirks.

 

_ Outside of Shujin Academy _

 

“Come oooooooon, Ryuji. You gotta try it at least once!” Futaba huffs.

 

“No way! The second I get hooked on an anime  _ that  _ long, I’m not gonna be able to watch all the new stuff!” 

 

“But you’ll miss out on all the cool fights!” The hacker pouts.

 

“Okay okay, it’s obvious you both won’t agree on watching One Part together.” Ann shakes her head, scrolling on a social media app as they walk. 

 

“Anything new in the world?” Futaba gets on her toes to see if she can look over at Ann’s phone.

 

“New movies, new shows, an attack at the police station, a new car model…” 

 

“Wait wait wait. Say that third one again.” Ryuji stops dead in his tracks.

 

“Mysterious Attack at Tokyo Police HQ. Two officers found dead with a gun left behind. WAIT WHAT?! Guys...look at the ‘gun’ found at the scene.” Ann lowers her phone for them to see.

 

“That looks like…”

 

“An Evoker….”

 

Futaba’s phone rings, she takes it out and answers it.

 

_ “Futaba, this is Akechi. ...did you see the news?” _

 

“Just now. Think this might be connected to what you told Makoto’s sis?”

 

_ “Perhaps. But we need someone to investigate it without getting caught. We have no idea if whoever did this is still around.” _

 

“I can try to hack into the footage inside the prison.” Futaba states in a hushed voice. “It’ll take time. Is there anything you can do on your end?”

 

_ “I’ll try to go through files again. I’ve been trying to decrypt them for a few days, but with little luck.” _

 

“And this is why you leave that stuff to the experts, Princey.”

 

Futaba hangs up, pocketing her phone. Ann and Ryuji look at her.

 

“Contact Ren and the Cat. We need everyone here, ASAP.”

 

_ LeBlanc, 6:00 PM _

 

The door to the cafe opens fast, as Ren and Morgana...who are still in their Yasogami uniforms rush in. They’re both breathing heavily. 

 

“We...came through the TV as fast as we could. Teddie...made it easy for us to come…” Morgana states, placing a hand on the back of a chair.

 

“Who’s TV?” Yusuke questions. 

 

“Boss’s. We asked permission of course.” Ren sighs. 

 

“But damn, those grey uniforms don’t work on you Ren. Red was seriously more of your style for sure.” Ryuji laughs.

 

“I know, I know. I can’t help but agree.” 

 

“Focus you two, we’re not here for idle conversation.” Mishima states, looking up from his phone. “Mitsuru wanted me to inform you all that we might need to make a scene again. That attack on the station might have been to free Shido after all.”

 

“But we changed his heart last year.” Haru points out. “Him being free won’t cause a threat, correct? He no longer desires to be Prime Minister.”

 

“But he still has a lot of intel.” Makoto states, arms folded. “He kept a lot from Akechi. And possibly even his most trusted. With his desires no longer preventing him from holding onto that information, he might be more willing to share what he knows to his former supporters.”

 

“So this Evoker killer knows this, and took Shido?” Morgana asks. “Seems too much of a guess. Maybe this is just a coincidence?”

 

“Not if this is any indication.” Futaba turns her laptop to show the group. “This is a live feed of the holding area. Look at the melted bars. Multiple prisoners were released.”

 

“Multiple? But who else would they want aside from...OH SHIT!” Ryuji’s eyes go wide. “The other targets we had!”

 

“But why is the question. Kamoshida, Madarame and Kaneshiro won’t be able to provide anything worthwhile..” Ann states. 

 

“Well maybe we can find clues. I just found a way for us to investigate, guys.” Mishima smiles. “There’s a ball going on soon for a lot of politicians as a kinda meeting of the parties. People from Shido’s party will be the ones hosting it at a shared estate.”

 

“So you’re saying if they’re really behind that attack, we might find evidence there?” Ren seems excited. “I’m all for an actual Phantom Thief heist.”

 

“But we have an issue. We cannot easily guise ourselves like we could in the Metaverse or the TV World. Ren’s face is known by the members of Conspiracy. How are going to hide among the sea of politicians?” Yusuke moves hair out of his face.  

 

“Oh don’t worry! I had replicas of your Phantom Suits made over the break!” Haru giggles. “It was a bit of a joint effort between Kanji-sempai and Marie-chan. They apparently used some material found in ‘The Nose Room’?” 

 

“Are you for real?!” 

 

“You have to be kidding.”

 

“Mine better fit! I’m not a cat anymore!”

 

The guys wait down below while the girls get changed. Ren is looking over his suit replica. 

 

“Every detail is spot on...its even leather just like it should be.”

 

“Same goes for mine.” Ryuji nods, satisfied. “But how’d they do it this fast? I know Marie is some sorta minor goddess or whatever, but this is still effing quick.”

 

“Well I’d rather be thankful they did it then not.” Mishima notes, going over his own suit. “I don’t even plan to be on the front lines for this operation yet this is just right.”

 

“Alright guys, we’re all changed!” Ann calls out. “Your turn!”

 

“Let’s do this.” Ren cracks his knuckles, as the guys head upstairs to change. 

 

A video call is soon made with the other two teams to touch base.

 

“You guys are seriously going to infiltrate that party?” Yosuke sighs. “That sounds way too dangerous for you guys to do alone.”

 

“We’ve done this shit before, man. We got this.” Ryuji smirks, adjusting his gloves a bit.

 

“Yes, in the Metaverse. But this is the real world Sakomoto.” Akechi shakes his head. “You need to approach this differently.”

 

“So if that’s the case, what do you propose?” Ren leans back in his seat.

 

“We’ll back you guys up.” Yu states, to which Minato nods in agreement.

 

“What happened to you guys saying before that you ‘Don’t want to mess with how each of us operates’?” Futaba shakes her head.

 

“We won’t directly involve ourselves, but we’ll try to gain other intel so there’s less risk for you guys.” Yukari states.

 

“Sounds good enough. Just stay away from us so the operation goes smoothly.” Ren starts to end the call, but then Rise holds up her hand.

 

“One second. While it’s nice you guys have your Thief suits and all...that’s not gonna make it easy to sneak in. You guys are gonna need disguises on top of that.”

 

“We’ll think of something!” Ann smiles. 

 

“Alright. Call us once you’re ready.” 

 

Ren ends the chat, and looks around. “Okay, so since that was brought to our attention...we need to work on outfits and false identities.”

 

“The ball is in three days. We need to be ready by that time.” Mishima tells the group. 

 

“We need a few people to deal with security.” Futaba states. “I can handle the tech side, but we need someone to handle the human side.”

 

“Yusuke and I can do that.” Ryuji smirks, stretching. “We just knock ‘em out and change into their uniforms like in Bountyman.”

 

“I am...unfamiliar with that particular video game reference but if it is just the means of taking out guards and utilizing the clothing on their backs to gain more access then...I can’t agree more on that plan.” Yusuke nods. 

 

“Alright, that part is settled but we still need Ren to make comotion. He is our leader so he needs to be in the middle of it.” Morgana states.

 

“But again, they know my face. I’d need a damn good deguise to get even close to the ballroom floor.” 

 

“...what if you wore a dress and makeup?” Haru asks.

 

“Wait...run that by me again?” Ren sounds slightly nervous.

 

“If we can make you look more feminine, you could easily step in with limited hassle.” Futaba states.

 

“I...gathered that. But why is this the idea suddenly? I don’t even know if I can freaking pull it off!” He sighs. “The most important part about a guise is how convincing it is and I’m-”

 

“A total twig dude.” Ryuji states. “You’re slender, especially if you have anything covering your arms and legs so yeah you're kinda built but not to the extent that it would tip anyone off.”

 

“W-Well..my voice! That’s a big tip off. I spoke in the calling card so they know whatI sound li-”

 

“You’ve done decent enough mimicry of feminine voices in passing as a joke, Ren. There shouldn’t be any reason why. Besides, you doing this means none of the girls are put in danger.” Yusuke smiles.

 

“But! ...alright. You have a point. I’ll do what I can and bite the bullet. But if there’s not a single dress that fits me, it’s back to the drawing board.” 

 

_ A Lab somewhere in Tokyo _

 

“We have to get that information... Zagreus. Why haven’t you obtained it?!” The doctor digs his fingers into his hair.

 

“Your method of getting information is slow and time consuming. I do not wish to deal with sensitive information at the speed of a snail. I wish for fast results.” Zagreus cleans his glasses with a fresh cloth.

 

“Your wishes mean nothing! Shido-san always said you were nothing more than a tool for our goals.”

 

“But he no longer thinks that. His logic was flawed due to human emotion. As is yours.” He doesn’t even give the scientist eye contact. “If you wish to give me instructions, then do so without rage. Anger is useless.”

 

“Perhaps you’re right.” Hayai takes a deep breath. “Do what you can to get that information. At this point I don’t care what methods you use as long as he stays alive.”

 

“That was a slightly better display of logic. Given your emotional state, I must give you a pass on account of illness. I shall do what I can.” Zagreus walks out of the room.

 

“He’s begun to defy programing already. Is this the result of the plume? Perhaps termination is in order...”

 

“Termination?”  Zagreus shakes his head. “How much of a fool does he take me for?”

 

_ The night of the ball _

 

_ “Oricle here. Icarus and I are in position in the van. Skull, Fox get those hook ups in the security room!” _

 

_ “Skull reporting, we gotcha. Zephyr, are you and Light in position?” _

 

_ “Roger that. But why do we all have to have codenames? Isn’t that just a thing for you guys?” _

 

_ “Ice Queen reporting in, it’s because can’t risk any of us getting arrested. What we’re doing here, no matter what the reason is, is a crime.” _

 

_ “Seal checking in, seems the ball is about to open up for guests. Joker are you in position?” _

 

_ “Yeah, but remind me again why Scar Face here is posing as my chauffeur? Wouldn’t he be too obvious?”  _

 

_ “Just go with it Joker. We worked with you on how to move in heels. Icarus and I will get a visual on a map of the whole place as soon as Skull and Fox break in.” _

 

_ “...roger that.”  _

A woman steps out of a limo, walking with pure confidence as she approaches the entrance to the mansion. No one seems to register who she is, which is a good sign. 

 

The area itself is packed with people. Music plays as everyone begins to talk and converse. Every person sneaking in can’t shake the feeling of dejavu.

 

“Joker made it inside.” Futaba tells the rest. “Zephyr, do you see anything from your location?”

 

Yosuke and Yu look around the garden area behind the mansion, dusting some dirt off of their pants from having to climb the garden wall. “Negative so far. Just seems like a normal rich person’s garden.”

 

“ _ Well keep looking! Until we have that map we have to rely on the human eye.” _

 

“Is she even sure we’ll find anything here?” Yu asks, shaking his head.

 

“If there is, it’d have to be like a lab to keep an Anti-Shadow Weapon charged.” Yosuke suggests. “

 

Joker makes his way through the crowd, as a few men offer passing glances. He feels a lot of uncomfortable vibes crawling down his spine, but he needed to reach a certain room. His hand naturally hovers over a hidden knife...just in case. 

 

Ryuji and Yusuke manage to knock out the security guards and take their clothing from them, placing their thief gear in a duffle bag.

 

“Do you ever think how unhygienic it is to just don the clothing of a stranger?” Yusuke points out, removing his suit slowly. “You are never aware of what they do, after all.”

 

“Dude, don’t go saying that shit right now!” 

 

They make their way through the mansion until they find a computer room. But it’s locked. They both sigh. 

 

“Oricle, this shit’s locked tight. How’re we gonna open it?” Ryuji whispers.

 

_ “Don’t you have a lockpick?”  _ Mishima asks.

 

“Oh! Right.” Ryuji shakes his head and begins to pick the lock. Unlike Ren, he’s not nearly as instant about it, struggling a bit to just get it to go in but eventually they manage to open the door and rush inside. “Alright we’re in, hooking up the device to the PC...now.”

 

_ “We have a map!” _

 

“Where do I need to go, then?” Ren asks, putting a finger in the ear where his communicator is. “I don’t want to stay for too long.”

 

_ “Seems there’s a meeting room to the south west of your location.” _

 

Nodding, the make up covered Phantom makes his way to the door...only to be stopped by a slender young man. 

 

“Please don’t go wandering off in locations you’re not supposed to be in unless given permission. It was clearly stated in the invite.” He adjusts his glasses with annoyance. Was he a guest himself? Or a child of one of the hosts? Ren had to focus. But this kid’s..prosthetic limbs..if that’s what they were...they seemed familiar to him.

 

“I’m sorry. I’ve just never been to a place quite like this before.” Ren winces, he didn’t expect to be stopped so soon. “I’m actually from a new party you see.”

 

“Oh? Has it been announced officially yet then?” He asks, looking skeptical as he crosses his arms. 

 

“Yes...it’s….”

 

_ “Joker, improvise!” _

 

“It’s…” He immediately kicks the young man in the groin and rushes in, completely disregarding any prior planning. 

_ “What the hell are you doing, Amamyima?!” _

 

_ “Joker that was too risky what the hell!” _

 

_ “Did he seriously do that? Ugh.” _

 

But the young man chases, completely unphased by it all. Ann watches from the rafters with dumbfounded shock. 

 

_ “He didn’t even flinch!” _

 

_ “You don’t think…” _

 

_ “Joker be careful!” _

 

Ren finds a sheet of paper and starts to pocket it. Only for a gun to be loaded with an audible click, causing him to freeze in place.

 

“That’s far enough. Place the document where you found it and return to the ballroom.”

 

“Who are you.” Ren keeps his back turned, but eyes his pursuer long enough to see a gun resembling an Evoker. Just like before.

 

“I’d like to ask that of you as well.”

 

“....” Ren takes out a smoke bomb and throws it on the ground, causing the small room to be filled with smoke that sets off the fire alarm.

 

_ “Go Ren! Now’s your chance!”  _

 

More smoke bombs are placed, and Ren makes an appearance as Joker. The whole crowd gasps. 

 

“You really think we’d ignore this? Don’t let these people fool you. The United Future Party still wants nothing more then to control you all. Don’t think they’re suddenly good because Shido is out of the picture.” Ren twirls his knife as he speaks, internally relieved to be able to abandon that stupid dress.

 

“It’s the Phantom Thieves!”

 

“Why are they back?”

 

“Get him!”

 

Bodyguards charge at him, but he manages to backflip out of the way. While maybe not nearly as smooth as in the Metaverse, he’s still agile enough to keep pace.

 

Yosuke and Yu use what time they have left to explore the garden, finding a steel door. But it seems it needs a passcode to enter.

 

“Yo Oricle, we may have found something.”

 

_ “Take a photo and then GTFO!”  _

 

“Right!” He snaps a picture as everyone starts to flee the scene. 

 

The young man from before pursues them as they try to drive away. 

 

“I shall not let you escape with those documents, Phantom Thieves!” He growls, before being stopped by a hand of another.

 

“That’s quite enough  Zagreus. Even if they attempt to snuff the rest of us out, they cannot. Soon I’ll lead the country under the goal that Shido set forth.”

 

“Unfortunately, you lack the skill.”  Zagreus states, drawing a gun. 

 

“W-What are you-”

 

“You only wish to use me as a tool. Yet I have the skills to surpass you given all that has been provided to me. You didn’t even account for their arrival. As I was intended to be the Metaverse asilant before that disappointing child took my role, I must only be for causing shutdowns, correct? But this data is false.” Zagreus adjusts his glasses, staring the doctor down with a cold expression that only a machine could provide. 

 

“You were meant to question Shido...and gain his intel. Yet reports state several prisoners were sprung that day. What do you plan to do...machine?”

 

“I shall use the Powers and data provided to me to rule Japan as I see fit. And I no longer need the assistance of humans who show no value. If you can provide me one thing right now, I shall spare your life.”

 

“I..I can guide you like a father!” The lab coated man states, backing up. “I was the main person who helped bring you to life after all, you owe that much to me!”

 

“I do not need such a foolish thing. Family? Guidance? Those are for humans with too much emotional attachment. If you cannot be of use to me, then join the rest of Shido-san’s failures.” He puts the gun on his head. “Farewell Dr. Hayai.”

 

A shot rings out as the man falls flat on the ground. Zagreus places the gun near him and then furrows his mechanical eyebrows. 

 

“My sight has become dirtied.” He takes his glasses off and wipes off the blood from the glass with a cloth before placing them back on his face.

 

“I must gain more data on the Phantom Thieves. Their elimination is key to my success.”

 

Back with the Persona Team, the group is looking over the data, observing it’s contents. Ren is reading the sheet he nabbed but can’t seem to gleem anything from it. 

 

“Does any of this make sense to you guys?” Yosuke asks, taking a sip of an energy drink just to keep himself alert as he keeps reading. “All this data Futaba managed to pull during Ren’s antics is obviously helpful, but how? It’s all garbled.”

 

Akechi sighs from the video feed, still refusing to meet them in person. “They’ve encoded it, just like they have most other data that is connected to the party that wasn’t in the public’s general knowledge.” 

 

“And it’s super complex too.” Futaba shakes her head, observing it all. “I could crack it open, but it’s gonna take a lot longer than normal. I’m gonna have to ask that you all do other things while I work on this.”

 

“Sounds fair enough. Tomorrow’s Sunday after all so there’s no school.” Yu smiles, standing up. “I’m going to do some digging with some connections I have with the police force here. I may not be able to find out much, but this kid that cornered Ren...if he’s really  Omicron , then we need to find out as much as possible.”

 

“Him being active means that the party is going to attempt something soon.” Akechi sounds serious. “Keep in mind, as of now they assume I died in Shido’s Palace in an attempt at redemption. So they can no longer use my skills to manipulate the public.”

 

“So they replaced you with a robot…” Ann sighs, shaking her head. “But he’s like Aigis and Labrys right? Shouldn’t he have his own free will?”

 

“Yeah, he should. But making friends and finding yourself is the main reason we gained what we had, you know?” Labrys nods. “I don’t think our cousin here is going to be willing to make friends if his first major action was to kill police.”

 

“Well let’s break for today.” Ren stretches, getting up. “I gotta head home before my folks worry.” 

 

As Ren and Morgana start to head back in the TV in the Sakura residence, they’re stopped by Sojiro. He looks concerned and serious, placing a hand on Ren’s shoulder.

 

“Ren, I overheard what you all were talking about back there. You’re digging into  Omicron ...right?” He sounds a bit quiet as he speaks.

 

“Yeah, it might be dangerous if anything happens and-”

 

“Don’t be an idiot. There was a good reason why this project was canned. Shido heard about how...unhinged this machine was and he pulled way too many strings to get it re-built.”

 

“Unhinged...Boss what do you mean?” Morgana asks, worried.

 

“Just what you think. This thing wouldn’t listen to orders, and would instead act on its own accord. I was working in a special section of the government when I had to be the one to give the message to cease and desist. Of course I didn’t understand much, but all I knew was that it had been a weapon too risky to be used.” 

 

“But that was for the initial work, right?” Ren asks. “What about when Shido revived it?”

 

“I had been...reassigned to act as an observer of a cognitive psycence researcher and was taken off the Kirijo investigation. But I still tried to keep an ear out for anything involving that project. But none of that’s really important to you right now. What is, is that you need to stop digging into this. This thing can and will kill on sight.” Sojiro leans against a wall.

 

“I’ll promise to be careful. Thanks, Sojiro.” Ren and Morgana smile before he could say anything else. 

 

Sojiro tries to stop them, but then sighs as he shakes his head. “Maybe they’re the only ones who can go toe to toe with this thing...but I’m still worried.  Shido...even though you had a change of heart you still continue to ruin the lives of others. Things really haven’t changed much since we both worked together on that one assignment…” 

 


	2. An Artist's Selfish Request

The following day, Leblanc was quiet and empty. Sojiro is cleaning a cup as he prepares to open properly. Kanji and Yusuke are seated at a booth in pure silence with the only sound in the whole cafe being the constant movement of the Artist’s pencil. 

 

Kanji cleans his glasses before putting them on and looking over Yusuke’s shoulder to see what he’s sketching. A small smile forms as he sees what it is. “So is that the final design you’re goin’ with for the crochet doll?” 

 

“Indeed. It was an idea that came to me from the moment you showed me some of your work. But I just now layed out a design I think I can be satisfied with. Will it be plausible?”  Yusuke moves a few strands of hair out of his face as he speaks..

 

“Yeah. It should be. Anyone in particular you have in mind to give this to? Or is it just for you?” The older emperor jokes.

 

“That is… It’s none of your concern at this moment.” 

 

“Dodging the question doesn’t make you any less suspect, you know?”

 

Sojiro laughs. “Hey, he probably has his reasons. Let the guy live. But...sorry that plan of yours turned out to be for nothing.”

 

Yusuke and Kanji both lower their heads, which causes Sojiro to shake his.

 

“It was a private event you crashed. Of course information wouldn’t leak out. That Mishima kid had a good idea, just wasn’t done in the right place.” 

 

The bell on the front door jingles, and Yusuke puts away his sketchbook as Futaba comes in with her laptop.

 

“It wasn’t a total loss though, Sojiro.” She smirks, sitting beside the tall artist. “I was able to get some great data. Although even after digging through it, I feel like I’m still missing a heck of a lot of context.”

 

“Shouldn’t we be telling this to everyone, though?” Kanji leans back in his seat. “I’d hate to leave the others outta the loop.” 

 

“Well, there’s not really any good chance to. Everyone’s trying to lay out different methods to get the public’s focus on the United Future Party’s dark side. And since that’s gonna require a lot of planning...we’re basically performing solo operations for now.”  Futaba sighs opening up some files on her computer.

 

“Given how many famous people we have in our ranks, as well as those with grand influence this should not be hard. But…” Yusuke sighs as he places a hand on his right cheek. “Perhaps I should take advantage of this break in operation to ask a favor.”

 

“What kinda favor, Inari?” 

 

“Put simply...I wish to know the location of my mother’s burial site.” As he says this, Yusuke takes a glance over at the Saiuri painting near Leblanc’s entrance. “Madrame rarely spoke of her during my time under him. And even when I requested to go visit her grave...he acted reluctant. As if there was something he did not wish me to know.”

 

“Well you did tell us what his Shadow admitted before you fought him.” Futaba places a gentle hand on the taller teen’s shoulder. “But the way you’re acting, I bet you’re assuming that even his Shadow hid something from you.”

 

“That would be correct. I would have gone to visit him in jail, and question him about that since he no longer holds the desire to deceive me. But the Evoker Killer sprung him as well as our other target’s out of imprisonment. Interrogating him on her resting place is now no longer an option without it affecting the whole operation we’re currently undertaking.”

 

Kanji nods, looking a bit serious. “I can talk to Naoto, see if we can’t lend a hand.”

 

“And I’ll do some digging as well.” Futaba smiles. “But in order to do that, I’ll need some sort of DNA sample.”

 

“If that is what it takes to find her whereabouts, then so be it.” Yusuke plucks a strand of hair and gives it to Futaba who places it in a plastic bag.

 

“I promise, we’re gonna find her for you. This is important to you, and as a friend I can’t just ignore that! So hang tight..I’ll get the results as fast as I possibly can... _ Yusuke _ .”

 

A small smile forms on the artist’s lips. “It is rare that you refer to me by my actual name. Perhaps I should treasure this moment?”

 

“Oh shut up Inari!”

 

_ Chinese Restaurant Aya, Inaba _

Ai, along with Kou and Daisuke are catching up. They’ve been taking advantage of Kou’s extended vacation to meet up. Ever since the crisis over the summer break, they’ve become closer as friends. 

 

Of course being in public, they’re having trouble not mentioning it. 

 

Ai picks at her mikodaun, in a bit of deep thought. While Kou is too focused on eating, Daisuke picks up on her silence and sighs. 

 

“Is something up, Ai? You’ve barely eaten since our food got here. You were the one that suggested we grab something, after all.” He states bluntly.

 

“It’s just, I can’t help but keep replaying those events in my head. I know we promised to only talk about them in private, but it’s hard to not just bring them up.” She finally takes a bite of her food. 

 

“Well if it makes you feel any better Ai, I can’t get my mind off of this either.” Kou smiles, before resuming eating. 

 

“It does a bit, actually.” She chuckles, before hearing something on a news report. “Wait...you two look at the TV.”

 

Turning their attention to the small TV in the restaurant they see a report covering the attack on the police station. 

 

_ “Sources indicate that a total of four prisoners were freed, with two officers killed with what appears to be an intricate hand gun. No fingerprints were found on the weapon and all security cameras seem to have been destroyed beyond recovery. As of now, this criminal is believed to still be at large in Tokyo, so please be careful.” _

 

The trio look right at the handgun on the screen, and all feel a chill crawl up their spines. 

 

“Doesn’t that handgun look familiar?” Daisuke asks, turning to his friends.

 

“Y-Yeah. Wasn’t that the one that short kid in the Gekogan uniform used?” Kou responds, going a bit quiet.

 

“They told us to keep a secret, and not tell others. Yet then they go behind our backs and do this….” Ai shakes her head. “Should we call in? We have information that they could use.”

 

“I’m...not sure.” Kou looks back at the screen. “Look at the damage caused. It doesn’t seem normal. It reminds me of the crisis we just got out of…”

 

“We need answers.” Daisuke crosses his arms. “I suggest we make a trip to Tokyo and find the kid ourselves. If he really did cause this, we need to know why before we even think about calling in. They all...aren’t like us after all.”

 

"I'm gonna at least confirm something with them before hand." Kou looks to the both of his friends.

 

_ Amamiya Residence, Inaba _

 

“You guys are going to be home late again? ..Yeah, Mona and I will be fine. Don’t worry.” Ren sighs as he hangs up his cellphone. “Seems we’ve got the house to ourselves again, Morgana.”

 

The Cat turned human looks up from a sheet of paper. “Good. I never thought human homework was gonna be this tricky. So, this is the best chance I’ve got to finish it with silence.”

 

“Well there’s also the issue of the Evoker Killer.” Ren mutters, sitting down on the couch with a thud. “That combined with the Rogue Anti-Shadow Weapon, we’ve got a lot on our plates.”

 

“Have you heard anything back from the others?” Morgana doesn’t look up from his homework as he speaks.

 

“Some. Seems Rise is going to start a new video series on her MeTube account solely to ‘Talk about old trends’. Just as an excuse to get talks of the Phantom Thieves to start up again. It seems like a sound plan.” 

 

“But her agents prevent her from getting too political right? So all she really can do is cause us to be trending on Chirper and Smilebook.” Morgana sighs as he finishes up his homework.

 

“We need more than one approach then. But I don’t want to put Haru at risk…” Ren seems conflicted as he starts to slump down in his seat.

 

His phone then rings, checking it he finds Akechi is calling. He puts him on speaker. 

 

“Alright, you’re on speaker. It’s just me and Morgana.” 

 

“Well, I called to offer an idea. Everyone is trying to draw public attention to us in order to warn the masses of the potential threat the party causes...correct? Well Makoto just informed me of how you all sent Shido’s calling card…”

 

“Are you suggesting we do that again? As a Phantom Thief you should never repeat the same exact action. The impact will lessen if you do!” Morgana huffs, arms folded.

 

“Did I ever say  _ you  _ were going to do this?” 

 

Ren’s eyes widen. “You do realize that you’ll be putting yourself at a great risk by revealing you’re still alive...right? If we lose you, we’ll lose access to our biggest source of inside information on the group.” 

 

“We both have escaped death once each, and I refuse to end this in a draw. I’ll be giving up whatever small amount of good will the people of Japan hold for me in order to expose them, but I did not properly earn it to begin with.” Akechi chuckles on the other end.

 

“I’ll talk to Futaba then. And I’ll get Rise-san in the know. If she covers the broadcast to her fans, even more people will know.” 

 

“Whatever it takes. I want to shake this corrupt party to it’s core...even if it means giving up my own safety.”

 

_ Kirijo HQ, Tatsumi Port Island _

 

Mitsuru is looking over the information provided by Futaba, but seems...unsatisfied. With Aigis and Minato at either side of her, they all share her same feeling.

 

“According to the data, the project had parts obtained and delivered by a Yakuza clan. They were paid for their work...” Aigis reads. “But the information does not include the name of the clan or the people within it.”

 

“And given the sheer amount of clans all over Japan, it’s going to be hard to pinpoint the exact one without risking our lives.” Mitsuru shakes her head. “We might want to ask the Phantom Thieves if they have any possible connections to the underground.”

 

“The rest of the information seems unrelated to the Shadow Weapon. Look here, there’s listings for research into...SEBEC?” Minato looks confused.

 

“Saki Electronics and Biological And Energy Corporation. Or SEBEC.” Mitsuru explains. “There were talks...that back in 1996 there was an incident involving a machine created by them. Not much is known however, as so much time has passed and the company no longer exists. Shido really was looking into just about everything with even the smallest hint of advantage granting...” 

 

“We might want to do some research of our own then…” But as Minato states this, his cellphone rings. “Hm?”

 

Answering it, he hears a familiar voice on the other end of the line. 

 

“Minato Artistro….right?” Kou’s voice states over the phone. “We saw the news...and…”

 

“If this is about the Evoker Killer, then you can stop. It wasn’t me.”

 

“Why are you so quick to denying involvement? No one else has those strange guns!” He sounds angry.

 

“Well...that is correct but…”

 

“That’s all I need.” He hangs up suddenly.

 

“This isn’t good Mitsuru. People we saved are growing suspicious of us…” Minato looks down.

 

“Perhaps this is their plan...frame us, and cause us to be blamed for the deaths...it sounds like a Shido plan for sure.”

 

“We need to catch this killer and quickly.” Minato looks over at his own Evoker.

 

_ Futaba’s Room, Sakura Residence, Yogen _

 

Yusuke, along with Kanji and Naoto are gathered around Futaba’s computer the following day. She had just recently sent in the DNA sample Yusuke provided and the four were now looking over the results. 

 

“I’m not really sure how you’d read this...if I’m being honest.” Kanji folds his arms. “I never really thought about using these sorts of sites, you know?”

 

“It’s simple actually.” Naoto gets closer to the screen and points. “Right here is Yusuke at the newest point of the tree. And if we go backwards…”

 

“We find a very interesting connection…” Futaba mutters, hands folded under her chin. 

 

“What makes this interesting exactly, Futaba?” Yusuke asks, studying the screen deeply. 

 

“Well look at the tree. It seems your family came from a small village...but your mother must have moved to Tokyo for some reason. But what?” 

 

“Madarame hid this information from you, yes?” Naoto asks, hand on her hip. “Perhaps he was aware of the details of her departure.”

 

“Maybe this can connect with the United Future Party in some way?” Kanji asks, which surprises the other three. “What? We’ve done enough investigations that I can pick up on this shit too!”

 

“But how would it connect?” Naoto looks at Kanji. “Or are you just hopeful that these two mysteries will intertwine like in a novel?”

 

“Perhaps...it has something to do with that book….” Yusuke thinks out loud. “Sen...Madarame wouldn't allow me to ever read it but it had a lock on it but, I never saw the key. It must have been my mother’s journal. He kept it even after allowing her to die…”

 

“Yusuke, where is that journal now?” Naoto asks.

 

“After I moved out, I took it with me. I keep it in my room in my dorm. Should I bring it?”

 

“Uh, yeah? There could be a chance she wrote down the answers we need.” Futaba smiles. “This could be big. Plus...you can learn more about your mom.”

 

“I will find out what he hid from me...no matter what.” 

 

Suddenly, Futaba’s Video Call App rings on her computer. With an annoyed groan, she answers and Akechi appears on screen.

 

“I’m glad I caught you at home.” He states, looking serious. “I have a proposal for you in regards to how we’re going to get the attention of the populace.” 

 

“What kind of proposal, Akechi?” Kanji looks skeptical. 

 

“Perhaps you all recall the calling card you pulled for Shido? Something on that grand of a scale would need to be done. Plus it may also alarm our Evoker Killer into going after us.” The former detective smirks.

 

“And let me guess, you wish to capture them once they pursue us?” Naoto questions, moving hair out of her face.

 

“Precisely.”

 

“Okay, that’s cool and all but it’s not gonna be enough if we do that again, Akechi. I hope you realize that calling card methods can’t be done more then once since the impact will be lost.” Futaba adjusts her glasses with frustration. 

 

“Ren told me about the same. But I’m not suggesting you all share the message. I wish to deliver it myself.”

 

“Despite the risks to both you and our insider knowledge?” The First Detective Prince asks.

 

“It’s precisely those risks that I wish to take advantage of.”

 

The four fall silent, which allows Akechi to speak again.

 

“Rise is aware and is preparing to make a video on her MeTube account after the event. Mishima is also working to get a new function for the Phan-Site running. You all are the last people I’m contacting about this.”

 

Futaba nods. “I hate the risks involved, but I’ll do it. As long as that party stands, people can’t be safe. I’m going to head over to the Nijima residence so we can work on what needs to be done. Can you let Makoto know?”

 

“Of course. I hope this plan works...because if not...I’m out of options.” 

 

The video call ends.

 

_ Taiyō Apartment Complex _

 

Ryuji steps out of his his complex to go for a short walk. While everyone else was working on ways to shake up the public again, he was trying to figure out something he could be doing to help. 

 

“Not like I can do much on my own…” The bleached blond sighs. “Mitsuru’s team is doing deep digging...Futaba’s helping Crow with that broadcast. Hell even Mishima’s doing something. Working in a team this big...I’m not sure what I can do anymore.”

 

He walks to the park nearby, taking a seat on a bench as he looks to the sky. “We’re the only one’s who can do this...right?”

 

Something echo’s in his head.

 

_ “Have you decided what you want from us yet, Sakomoto?”  _

 

_ “Na. I’m not really one to ask for things from others.” _

 

_ “How come?” _

 

_ “I just don’t see why I could ask for something when other people need it more.” _

 

Ryuji shakes his head. “It might have been a dumb choice...but it’s the truth. I’m really not worth helping.” 

 

Footsteps approach, which causes the thief to look in the direction. He sees a teen the same age as him walk up..drenched in water and trembling.

 

“Are you...able to help me...please?” He asks, scared tone clear as day in his voice. 

 

Ryuji stands up and goes to the kid. “What happened to you..?”

 

“I’m being chased...by a thin man….please you have to help me hide…” 

 

Without a second thought, Ryuji takes him back to his apartment. His mother glances over from her chair.

 

“Ryuji, who is this?” She asks, a bit concerned.

 

“He needs somewhere to hide for a bit...is that okay?” As Ryuji asks, the boy hides deeper behind him.

 

“As long as he promises not to missbehave, I don’t see a reason why not. Take him to you room. It is the innermost room in this place.”

 

“Right.” 

 

They both hide and Ryuji looks him over. He’s built, with a torn uniform that looks like the old red blazers Shujin used to have. What school is he from exactly?

 

“Hey uh...do you go to a school anywhere around here?” Ryuji asks, still looking over the uniform.

 

“Not here...Tatsumi Port…” The young man replies. “I had to...run away. But I can’t recall why.”

 

“Can’t...recall? What do you mean?”

 

“My head is all fuzzy. I think it’s called Amnesia?” He rubs his temples with his thumbs.

 

“Another Amnesiac huh?” Ryuji mutters. “Well uh...can you at least tell me what else you recall?”

 

“My name is…Envoy…I’m from Tatsumi Port Island…and I have…three family members.” 

 

“Envoy huh? Odd name. Your folks not from Japan originally? ..wait I doubt you’d be able to answer that sorry.” Ryuji puts a hand on Envoy’s shoulder. “Well you’re being chased right? I can help get you some protection.”

 

“You can? I wouldn’t think you’d be able to…”

 

“I have connections. My name’s Ryuji Sakomoto, and I’ll stick with you.”

 

“Ryuji-san…I’ll remember that.”


	3. An Overdue Rebellion

Makoto walks down her neighborhood, deep in thought. With Akechi working on his risky plan, her worry is what will happen to herself and Sae given they are giving him sanctuary. And the Evoker Killer… 

 

“I need to relax. We will do this...we-” Her phone goes off. “A Chirper update?” 

 

Checking her feed, she sees several re-chirped posts talking about more deaths caused by the murderer using the Evoker styled weapon. All scientists in similar fields. Including one killed right after the party the Thieves raided.

 

“No…” Makoto covers her mouth. “I need to share this with the others…”

 

Makoto runs to her home and sees Futaba and Akechi looking at the hacker’s laptop. The former detective glances over and instantly sees the look on her face.

“You saw the news then….right?” He asks, as calm as he can be in tone.

 

“This murderer...who could they be?” 

 

Futaba keeps typing but lets out a long sigh as she does so. “I’m almost done with the mods to the Futaba Canon.” 

 

“What do you mean by mods, Futaba?” Makoto asks, sitting down.

 

“Well our calling card to Shido was pre-recorded. But Crow wants to do his message live.” She adjusts her glasses. “So I’ve been working for four straight hours just to code live feed capabilities”

 

Sae steps out of the kitchen with a glass of water. “Why did you choose to do this live, Akechi-kun?”

 

“Simply because...sticking to a script would just be what I had been doing for the past three years of my life. I want to use this broadcast hack to sever any remaining chains I have on myself. Because I refuse to go down in Shido’s Ragnarok.” His hands ball into fists.

 

“I see. But you are still aware of the possibility of them finding your location due to it being a live feed right?” 

 

“Well that’s why I’m here. Location hiding is super easy.” Futaba laughs.

 

“Well hopefully this will shake up our enemy enough to finally capture them all.” Makoto sighs. “A lot more people are dead thanks to that killer….”

 

“I’ll expose them...I promise you that.” Akechi smiles, before checking his watch. “It’s almost time for the news to shift to the topic of politics. Are we almost ready, Futaba-chan?”

 

“Ready!” 

 

The duo head into a room with a bunch of cameras set up. Akechi sighs as he glances at them. What was once a glorifying reminder of his place at the top, now only reminded him of the sins he committed and the families he destroyed all in the name of vengeance on a man who had a tight grasp on his crossbar. 

 

“You gonna be alright, Detective Prince?” Futaba asks. “We can still record it all if you wanna.”

 

“Please...I’d rather not be called that anymore, I did not earn the title like she did. But, I refuse to record. If I truly wish to cut my chains and sever my strings, I must carve my own path. And I must do it as strongly as possible.” 

 

Futaba nods as she warms up all of the cameras. “I've contacted all the news people we personally know to help spread this info. We're gonna shine a huge light on them!”

 

_ Bar Crossroads  _

 

“LaLa-chan, do you mind turning on the news?” Ohya asks, taking a sip of her wine.

 

“I don't mind, but may I ask why?” The bar owner questions, grabbing the remote. 

 

“You remember Ren right? The kid who had all the juicy Intel about the Phantom Thieves? He called me before I got here to tell me to stay near a TV at around this time.” 

 

“It's just us here, you know. And I'm aware that he's the leader of the Phantom Thieves. He told me as much when he picked up his last paycheck.” La La chuckles. “But did he give you more detail than that?”

 

“Not really…oh! Flip it on now, La La.”

 

Turning on the TV, they see a news report.

 

_ “With the front runner of the United Future Party revealed to be abusing influence, the remaining members of the party have agreed to truly stick to the morals that Shido only feigned. Support is slow, but it appears that a fresh election will bring forth positive change for Japan.” _

 

“Something still stinks about that party…” Ohya mutters.

 

Suddenly the image freezes as the screen is filled with a staticy symbol. 

 

“Are they breaking into another broadcast?” La La asks as she cleans a glass.

 

“I'd say yes...but that's not the logo of the group. But...who uses a simple A as their sigil?” 

 

_ “It seems I have made contact.”  _ A masked voice speaks.

 

_ “People of Japan, do not believe the words of the United Future Party. They are and will always be a cancer on our country.” _

 

“A cancer huh?” Ohya is already taking notes. 

 

_ “So many lives were ruined because of Shido, but the people who supported him were the ones who requested the deaths of hundreds...possibly even more. As I speak, someone is probably screaming for help just simply because they disagreed with one simple demand.” _

 

“This hacker seems to know a lot about them….it's concerning..” La La can't keep her eyes off.

 

_ “For three years, the party had a hit man. A person who had the same powers that would later be used by the Phantom Thieves to end Shido’s story. That hit man….”  _ The image goes to a live feed.  _ “...was me.” _

 

Ohya spits out her drink. “SHIDO USED A HIGH SCHOOLER TO KILL PEOPLE?!”

 

Social Media is blowing up, questions are posted all over.

 

_ Akechi was apart of it? _

 

_ Akechi-kun lied to us? _

 

_ LOL this has to be fake.  _

 

_ Cheap rip off of the PT, Mr. Dick. _

 

_ “I know...questions must be bubbling in your heads. But as a general statement…I apologize for my deceit. I did so many heinous actions all in the sake of gaining popularity. But as a former player in the Conspiracy, I can do at least one thing that may truly help.” _

 

“Is he gonna name drop people?” Ohya asks.

 

_ "Yuzu Yami, Dr. Haiya Mitzu, Current SIU Director Ryuo Kaen, attorney Ginzo Yamada...and many others."  _ Akechi looks to the camera directly.  _ "These are people you put your faith in. But they bring you nothing but pain and fear should you let them win. They will ruin your life, and make what's left of it...a living hell. Their friends are numerous, as is their reach. Do not fall for their tricks. Do not let them win." _

 

Zagreus growls at the TV in the mansion. "The damn brat lives." He glances over at a door to a locked bedroom. " Seems in the end, even Shido was a failure. His spawn however has granted me an idea."

 

"Sir? What do you mean?" A scientist asks.

 

"Simple. If you wish to win, sometimes you must appeal to most sensitive aspect of human kind: emotion. Start running tests on the Alpha node." The weapon grabs his coat.

 

"Where are you heading?"

 

"Inaba. I've been craving Chinese food...heh."

 

_ Inaba, Market Street _

 

“This is your chance, Kou.” Ai places a hand on the taller young man. “She’s over there texting.”

 

“Well...I…” He sighs, averting his gaze.

 

“Are you still nervous?” She tilts her head. “You’ve got this, trust me. Like I said before you just need to be yourself.”

 

“...right.” 

 

Taking a deep breath, Kou walks over to Chie as Ai and an approaching Daisuke watch from a safe distance. 

 

“So...you’re just going to let him go for it then, without telling him?” The soccer player asks, arms folded as he leans against a pole.

 

“....yeah. I’m leaving what happens in Chie hands. If she turns him down then...I’ll tell him before he heads back to America.” Ai moves a strand of hair behind her ear.

 

“And if she doesn’t?” 

 

“....”

 

The duo watch as Kou taps Chie on the shoulder. Glancing up she notices Kou is struggling to make direct eye contact, which confuses her.

 

“You okay Kou?” She asks, putting her phone in her pocket.

 

“Well...I wouldn't know how to say...exactly.” He sighs.

 

“I can hear you out, you know? I might not know what to say exactly myself but...can’t hurt to try right?” Chie offers a kind smile.

 

“Can’t hurt to try...yeah you’re right.” He looks right at her. “Chie there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a few years.”

 

“Huh?”  Chie can’t tell where this is going.

 

“Chie I-”

 

A gun is heard audibly clicking behind him. Freezing in place, Kou looks to see...

  
  


Minato?

 

“You…” Kou shakes his head in disbelief. “So, she was going to be your next target huh?”

 

But he offers no response, trying instead to push him out of the way. Kou kicks him to the ground and kicks the gun far away.

 

“I get you’re not the most talkative out of the four, but at least respond when someone talks to you.”

 

Ai and Daisuke run up, both in shock. Daisuke manages to pin him to the ground while Ai pulls out her cellphone.

 

“Wait...calling the police on him won’t do us any good.” Kou realizes, sighing. “Isn’t he legally considered dead?”

 

“True.” Ai nods.

 

“Whoa whoa whoa! Why would you even consider arresting Minato-san?” Chie questions, shocked. “He and Mitsuru have been hard at work looking for the real culprit.”

 

“He pulled a gun on us, Chie. How could that be proof of him being innocent?” Daisuke shakes his head.

 

“I...I don’t know! I’m gonna call Naoto and the others…” Chie runs off.

 

“Wait! Chie!” Kou lowers his head. “Damnit…”

 

Ai glares down at Minato. “You ruined what would have been a really good confession, I hope you realise that.” 

 

“Maybe I should make it up to you then.” His voice sounds off..but before any of them can question it...a strange smoke bomb is set off.

 

The trio desperately tries to keep their focus on the young man they apprehended but they slowly start to lose consciousness.

 

Before Kou passes out, however, he sees what he assumes to be Chie’s back up attempting to arrest Minato. A thin young man with a knife. They start fighting...but Kou loses all focus before he can see the bout to its conclusion.  

 

Twenty minutes pass.

 

Chie runs back to the scene, with Yosuke and Teddie trying their best to keep with her. 

 

“They should be right over...here?” Chie blinks, looking around to see no one. “Uh…”

 

“Did you seriously drag me all the way out here just to mess with me?” Yosuke yawns, a bit annoyed.

 

“I swear! Minato pulled a gun on me, but those three stopped him and-”

 

“Chie-chan...Minato is back in Port Island with Mitsuru-san.” Teddie says, worried. “He wouldn’t have shown up here unannounced.”

 

“But then...who was?”

 

Yosuke takes out his cellphone. “I’m gonna call the Thieves. Akechi’s broadcast probably has them all busy but...we need to see if any of them know.”

 

“I’ll call Mitsuru and see if Minato ever left.” Chie sighs, taking out her phone.

 

_ Big Bang Burger, Shibuya _

 

The restaurant is a buzz with talks about the broadcast

 

“Akechi actually was involved with all that scary stuff huh?”

 

“He had us all fooled for sure. But didn’t he seem...sad when he was speaking?”

“He’s a murderer, his emotions are probably all sorts of messed up!”

 

“But he’s still just a kid. What kind of person would force a child to kill people, after all?”

 

“I don’t think it was forced! He did it knowing what would happen!”

 

“So you saying he’s guilty?”

 

Futaba takes a sip of her soda as she listens in on the murmurings of the public. It seems the identities revealed mean nothing compared to Akechi admitting to his crimes. Nonetheless, people are indeed talking about it all.

 

Yusuke and Makoto are sitting along with her, taking notes and looking at the overall attitude of the populace. Suddenly however, Futaba get’s a call from Yosuke. 

 

“What’s up, dork prince?” Futaba jokes...but then suddenly gasps.

 

Yusuke sets down his french fry and looks at Futaba who gives him a worried and confused face. 

 

“And you say she was positive it was Minato?” Futaba starts writing things down in a notepad. “I see. And where are Kou, Daisuke and Ai? ...you don’t know? Great. Well we’ll try to keep an eye on things. Go bother Ren about this too. He might be able to help over there.”

 

She hangs up as Makoto and Yusuke stare at Futaba.

 

“Minato...in some shape or form...is being framed as the Evoker Killer.” 

 

Makoto clenches her left fist. “But why? Not many people would know he’s well...around right?”

 

“Indeed. We’ve kept his revival as closely underwraps as possible to avoid drawing unwanted attention. But then someone who could frame him would need to be someone with insider knowledge.”

 

“We don’t...have a traitor in our group do we?” Futaba gulps slightly. “We barely avoided things the first time…”

 

Makoto’s phone rings, and she freezes. “Guys...Minato is calling me.”

 

All three stare at the phone, wondering what the hell could be going on.

 

_ Taiyō Apartment Complex _

 

“And if you do that...yeah I think you’re getting the hang of it now.” Ryuji laughs as he stretches a bit.

 

“I can’t seem to recall having any memories of playing video games, so this is a new experience for me. This is quite enjoyable.” Envoy chuckles.

 

“Were your folks strict or somethn’? Or did they never appeal to you?” Ryuji shrugs, not wanting to dwell on it. “Uh anyway, what did you think of that broadcast hack earlier today?”

 

“Goro Akechi right? I’m familiar with his name…” The brown haired boy nods. “He hurt people, and caused a panic while pretending to be good. I...don’t like him.”

 

“Eh, I don’t either. Unfortunately..I gotta work alongside him to fix that shit he was warning the public about.” Ryuji then immediately covers his mouth.

 

“Hm? What do you mean, Ryuji-san?”

“I uh….crap.” He really put his foot in his mouth this time. But how could he explain to someone who has no memories?

 

“Ryuji?” Envoy tilts his head, pausing the game.

 

“It’s uh…”

 

“Can you not tell me?” He seems a bit sad.

 

“Sorry, I kinda can’t. You already have people after you, I’d hate to put you in more danger.” Ryuji puts a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Well even if I can’t know, I know you and all you’re helping will do this.”

 

“Thanks…”

 

Ryuji takes a glance at his window and sighs. He can’t keep Envoy in the apartment for too long. He and his mom are already tight on funds as it is, a third person would make it impossible. 

 

He had let the others know about Envoy’s situation the first night, but so far no one was able to take him in. He doesn’t want to abandon the guy, but...

 

His cellphone rings, which snaps him out of his thoughts. “Hm? Oh hey Ann.” 

 

_ “Ryuji, you mentioned a guy needing protection right? Well right now I don’t think keeping him with Mitsuru and co is a bright idea.” _

 

“What? Why? ...what happened?”

 

A group video chat is started, Envoy playing video games in the background as a hope that he won’t overhear.

 

“Minato pulled a gun on Chie?” Yu asks, placing a hand on his cheek. “That sounds completely out of character for him.”

 

“Who could have framed him?” Kanji sighs, cleaning his glasses.

 

“How can you say it’s still framing when Chie actually saw and was almost shot by him?” Youske retorts.

 

“Well it could have very easily been a shadow!” Yukiko states. “It happened when we fought Deathbringer, remember?”

 

“If it was a shadow, I would have been able to sense it when Yosuke and I followed Chie.” Teddie states. “I think it was really Minato.”

 

“But if that’s the case...why?” Ann asks.

 

“Hey, shouldn’t we like...get the Ops in on this call?” Ryuji adds. “Their testimony would be kinda helpful.”

 

“They would be clouded by emotion.” Yusuke states. “We are, after all, accusing their recently returned friend of capital murder and attempted murder.”

 

“Minato called me earlier…” Makoto states. “But he sounded...off.”

 

“How so?” Ren tilts his head.

 

“He sounded like...he wasn’t fully there.”

 

“Maybe he was brainjacked!” Ryuji snaps his fingers.

 

Someone tries to join the call, and everyone freezes as they see the message appear.

 

**_Blue Death would like to join_ ** .

 

The generic ringing of the video app is all that fills the silence. They want to let him join...they should.

 

But what would they see on his feed?

 

Yu takes a deep breath...and answers the call.

 

Minato appears on screen, but he looks badly injured with bleeding cuts on his face, and he’s breathing heavily.

 

“Minato...what happened?” Ren asks, concerned as Morgana scoots beside him.

 

“There was some...skinny guy who came up to me. And...he...he was a Shadow Weapon.” He coughs.

 

“Did he attack you?” Haru asks, concerned.

 

“Of course he did. And used his Persona on me.” He holds his head suddenly. “I heard him say..he was taking people to...Olympus...then I blacked out. When I came to, I was in the middle of the road in Inaba.”

 

“So..it was you. But he brainjacked your body?” Ryuji asks.

 

“O..lympus.” Envoy sets down the controller. “Olympus.” 

 

“Hey I thought you said he was gonna be occupied.” Futaba sighs.

 

“Olympus. I recall something about it!” Envoy states, going to the screen.

 

“Hold on...you look like-” But Minato gets cut off.

 

“The man that chased me was planning on turning Japan into his Olympus. Using technology.”

 

“That’s vague...but why would he tell you that?”

 

“I can’t say, my head is still fuzzy…” Envoy holds his head.

 

“Well the news is a buzz about Akechi’s broadcast. Seems they’re ignoring any requests to not cover it.” Futaba pulls up an article. “If we want to find out what our culprit means by Olympus, we may need to take advantage of this chaos.”

 

“Well Minato, get your friends to Tokyo. I’m going to head there with Morgana.” Ren smirks. “We’ll put a stop to this...for real this time.”

 

_ Nijima Residence _

 

Sae puts her smartphone away before opening up her laptop. “Just like you would have hoped, everyone is a buzz about your broadcast.”

 

Akechi nods, looking over her shoulder as he watches his blog’s inbox reach the high three hundreds. “They’re all posting questions to my blog. This is more traffic than it’s ever gotten.”

 

“It’s because of what you admitted.” Makoto takes a sip of her tea.

 

“..what are they asking?”

 

“ _ Where are you? Why didn’t you testify? Coward! Liar. False Hero. Traitor to your fans.   _ And some much more hateful things that I’d rather not read out loud.” Sae shakes her head.

 

“How fast they turn, huh? Well it’s not like I desire their approval, anyhow. What matters the most, is that Conspiracy is stirred up.”

 

“But one question I have is...wasn’t the group dissolved after we defeated Yaladboth?” Makoto tilts her head. “So why are they back?”

 

“Some people are just stubborn. It Shido took years to build the reputation he had before his downfall, however, so their current hold is about as strong as a brand new party. Most Conspiracy members that remain don’t understand the full extent of the Metaverse, and are probably still being threatened with their lives, same as before.” Akechi sighs. “But since those deaths would now be conducted out in the real world, they need a scapegoat just to save their skin. Hence why Minato-san is being framed and used.”

 

“But releasing him in an injured state, our enemy would have to know he’d contact you.” Sae mutters. “Even if he was dead since 2009, there could have been eyes on you all during the Inaba Crisis.”

 

“Could this be another trap?” Akechi looks back at the laptop. “If it is...then we need to find a way to flip the board in our favor.”

 

“And how do you propose we do that?” Sae crosses her arms.

 

Akechi’s suitcase falls down from the table, opening and spilling a folder with tons of documents in it. Akechi looks at one and smirks as he picks it up.

 

“Contact Futaba. I’m going to provide her with an access point to the group’s research division.”

 

“What good would that do?” Makoto asks.

 

“There’s an Anti-Shadow weapon in their ranks, and Ryuji’s new friend seems to know something about ‘Olympus’. Whatever that project is, we must ascertain as much detail as possible and shut it down.”

 

Akechi’s phone rings. “Ren and Morgana have arrived at Leblanc. I’m going to head there myself.”

 

_ LeBlanc, Attic _

 

Everyone has gathered around the space that used to be Ren’s room. Envoy is with them, as Futaba and Akechi start typing away at cracking the access point.

 

Yusuke is trying to open the lock on the journal he mentioned with a lockpick as they wait. With a satisfying click, the book opens. Kanji and Naoto glance over his shoulder.

 

“It is indeed her journal…” He smiles. “But...she mentions something a lot in it.”

 

“ _ The spirits that protect the soul are just one half of human existence.  _ This sounds like she’s talking about Personas.” Naoto points out. 

 

“Perhaps the village my mother was from knew more about Persona than most people without them.” Yusuke states. 

 

“Then why would Madarame hide it from you?” Ann asks. “I mean if you don’t already understand Persona then this just means nothing...right?”

 

“Perhaps the answer is as simple as him wishing to not know my origins. Since if I came into contact with any blood relatives, Madarame would lose custody of me.” The artist looks down. “And he would lose something that...at least at one point in his life...saw as his own family.”

 

“Yusuke…” Ann places a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

 

“Bingo! This point has been cracked open.” Futaba giggles. “But before we show you the details...how the hey did you have this access point Akechi?”

 

“I’ve been in over sixty palaces over three years, and those who held information of use I kept notes of in the journal I always keep in my suitcase.” Goro smirks. “Most I couldn’t really utilize without prior knowhow but now that you’re in need of any information I’ve gathered it’s time to put it to use.”

 

“And you waited until now to give us the info?” Ryuji glares. “I bet you just wanted to show off again, asshole.”

 

“Okay okay, that’s enough Ryuji.” Makoto shakes her head. “What were you two able to find?”

 

“It seems the group was looking to past incidents that have rocked Japan over the years. Shido ordered some of these, but studies were halted when his heart was changed. But over summer break they picked up steam again.” Futaba adjusts her glasses.

“What kinda incidents are we talkn’ about?” Kanji asks.

 

“Well...perhaps it’s best we go in timeline order yeah?” Rise staes, looking over Futaba’s shoulder. “There’s...a lot here.”

 

“Let’s take turns reading then.” Ren states.

 

“Date 1996: Mikage-cho is subjected to ‘Demon Attacks’. SEBC is said to be responsible. Records indicate St. Hermlin students supposedly put an end to the invasion.” Futaba reads. “Cause is believed to be the device known as DEVA System, said to create a dimensional space by shifting matter into different forms.” Akechi reads aloud. 

 

“I recall hearing urban legends about the demons of Mikage...but if the men under Shido thought this could be of use then…” Naoto places her fingers on her chin.

 

“Those kids had to be Persona users!” Yosuke states. “You guys recall the Shadow mimics right? Two of them weren’t familiar to any of us. Meaning…”

 

“One must have been the Mikage-cho leader…” Yu nods.

 

“What’s next?” Ann asks.

 

“1999: An unknown time anomaly occurs.” Futaba reads.

 

“Wait that’s it?” Ryuji blinks. “We get this who big ass thing with Demons and shit and...just time shifts?” 

 

“There could have been an event to cause it, but if any shift in time happened...they would have no way of knowing.” Akechi states. “But what could have happened?”

 

“There were two mimics. The other must be the potential leader of that Crisis.” Minato states. “But there doesn’t seem to be anything worthwhile to get.”

 

“Perhaps those events are still being studied?” Haru puts forth. “Time is such a complex thing after all…”

 

“This next part...mentions what happened to my grandfather…” Mitsuru states, looking at the screen. “How...did they get this data?”

 

“And they have records of Strega’s actions as well…” Akihiko points out.

 

“Whoa whoa whoa! Back up a second, look what it says here!” Junpei points out. “November 2009...another time anomaly?” 

 

“Wasn’t that around the time we had our culture festival canceled due to a Typhoon? I was kinda bummed about that…” Minato sighs. “Of course...I was also sick so…”

 

“Minato being sick is nothing new, though.” Yukari laughs. 

 

“Oh hey, this next part is our case.” Yosuke points out. “Inaba Murders...and...wait Time Anomaly  _ again _ ? Hey, this was during our culture festival!”

 

“Two time fluxes...happening near culture festivals. Wonder what happened?” Kanji states. “I kinda feel like I should remember though…”

 

“It’s a feeling of Deja vu...just like when we were in that one part of the recreation of Marie’s forest.” Yu states, to which Minato nods.

 

“Well it seems for the most part the rest is all stuff we’ve experienced…” Futaba states. “So maybe...wait HOLD THE FRONT DOOR!”

 

Everyone crowds around the screen.

 

“Using data from DEVA as well as the Metaverse...a machine has been created to make a digital cognitive landscape fit for Persona training. It’s codename…. _ Olympus _ .”

 

“So they created a VR space for Persona users?” Ryuji asks.

 

“This is...what he told me.” Envoy pipes up. “Olympus is only a digital space currently...but there is a small chance...that it can become real…”

 

“And shape into a new Mementos if we’re not careful.” Morgana states. “Futaba, is there a location for this Olympus device?”  

 

“There’s multiple locations...I guess that way they can track down more users without dragging them to the same spot.” 

 

She pulls up a map provided, showing all of Tokyo. Several yellow blips indicate Olympus sites. “Says here...only four people can be hooked up to a device at a time. Which means if we need to use this device...we’re gonna need to split up.” 

 

“Well let's see here...if each device can contain four people...and there’s devices set up in hidden locations throughout Tokyo then…” Ryuji takes out a sheet a paper and starts trying to do math.

 

“Each group would need five people.” Mitsuru states, looking to everyone in the group. “Four to go in while one monitors their biological functions.” 

 

“Should we see if Sho would want to help us? He did help with the data nabbing after all.” Ryuji asks.

 

“Normally I’d agree, but given what we’re going to do may dig up some bad memories for him, I’d rather not involve him anymore.” Minato states. “If anything, we may just ask him to keep tabs on the goings on and relay them to the Bio-monitors.”

 

“Sounds reasonable enough.” Youske nods. “But, now we have the big question: Who’s gonna take the plunge?”

 

The room falls silent. 

 

“Labrys and I should not risk going in. Should the device have any sort of programing that could affect us, we shouldn’t risk it.” Aigis states, serious. “I shall be most useful observing the biological functions of Minato.”

 

“Wait I haven’t even said that I was going to yet.” He retorts.

 

“It’s gonna be like a video game from what I’m reading, we’d probably need someone who can better understand the way they work.” Akechi states.

 

“Then...I’ll go too!” Mishima pipes up. “I play all sorts of games, I should be able to lend a hand.”

 

Futaba nods, looking back at the map. “I’d voulter as well but since I can’t fight I’m better off being your fairy in the real world.”

 

“Don’t you mean our...pffft...Navi?” Junpei laughs.

 

“Hey, listen here now!”

 

“Can we re-focus?” Akechi asks. “Who else will go?”

 

“Yosuke and I can.” Yu states. “Neither of us are very good at video games, in all honesty, but you might need some experienced back up with this.”

 

“He has a point. Hmm...then for our group we’d need two more to go in.” Yosuke places a hand on his chin.

 

“I’ll go!” Chie raises her hand. “That jerk tried to kill me, so I want payback!”

 

“I’ll go as well. I am...a bit nervous however.” Naoto states.   
  


“You sure, Naoto? I can go in your place if you want. I actually play games...sometimes.” Kanji insists.

 

“I appreciate the concern Kanji, but I’ll be fine.”

 

“I’ll watch you guys. While I can fight, I feel most at home with observing.” Rise smiles.

 

“Yo Ren, you gonna go?” Ryuji asks.

 

“Why wouldn’t I?”

 

Akechi smirks. “I’m coming along too then. I can’t let Joker have all the fun.”

 

Futaba nods. “Okay, so Mishima, Akechi, Ren and Ryuji are in my team.”

 

Labrys looks around. “Okay I need a team. Aigis has Minato and whoever else is gonna go with him.”

 

Akihiko raises his hand almost instantly. “I’ll go. Mental training is just as important as anything. Plus I’m quite curious what this Olympus world would look like.”

 

“A world within a digital space...the possibility of such a place are limitless. I shall go as well!” Yusuke volunteers.

 

“...keep an extra eye on Yusuke's vitals.” Ann whispers to Labrys.

 

“I’ll go. Even if I can’t be in the same team as Naoto I’m not gonna just sit around.” Kanji crosses his arms.

 

Labrys nods, placing a hand on her hip. “Who’s gonna be number four then?”

 

“I’ll go!” Teddie states, jumping up and down a bit. “This sounds like an adventure that needs someone with my special charm!”

 

“Oh brother…” Yosuke shakes his head.

 

Aigis looks at Minato. “Please choose three people to go with you, Minato.”

 

Minato thinks. “Hmm...Junpei, Yukari and….Ken.”

 

Koromaru lets out a whine, seeming to be worried for Ken’s safety.

 

“I’ll be fine, Koro-chan.” He smiles, petting the shiba. “If you could, I’d bring you with me.”

 

Envoy fidgets. “I should...have a squad too right?” 

 

“Who remains?” Akechi asks.

 

“Ann, Haru, Makoto and Morgana I think. Oh! And Yukiko and Mitsuru.” Ryuji states.

 

“We have an odd number of people.” Akechi sighs.

 

“Well we wouldn’t if Sho and Adachi were helping us…” Naoto points out.

 

Fuuka looks around. “There doesn’t  _ need   _ to be four people correct? That’s just the limit.”

 

Everyone nods.

 

“In that case, I’ll watch a two man team.” Fuuka smiles. “I wouldn’t want to limit back up, after all.”

 

Aigis nods. “Koromaru will be accompanying me. He seems worried for Ken.”

 

Ann looks to Envoy “You’re gonna be watching us, okay?”

 

“R-Right!”

 

“We all know our teams. Now for locations.” Minato points to the map. “Team Futaba, head to Shibuya’s node, Team Aigis: we’ll head to Shinjinku, Team Rise will go to Akiharbara, Team Labrys will go to Suidobashi, Team Envoy will go to Kichijoji and Fuuka’s group will head to Ikebukuro.”

 

“We have our locations, so we should move without any delay.” Akechi starts to get up, only for Ren to put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Not if we don’t hide you first. Your face is one of the most recognizable ones in Japan right now, we need to make sure we arrive safely as a group.”

 

“And how do you plan to achieve that?” Akechi crosses his arms.

 

Futaba reaches into her bag and pulls out a whole big box. Colored contacts, make up, and even hair ties.

 

This...was going to be fun for everyone in the room.

 

Except Akechi.

  
  



	4. A Virtual Hell

The teams spread out, taking every shortcut possible as they follow the GPS Futaba had provided them.

 

Akechi is, uncomfortable. The group had settled for making him wear black contacts to hide his notable red eyes as well as pulling his hair back and dropping a loose cloth hat on his head. He had been also asked to refrain from speaking...which only made it worse for him.

 

“How much farther, Futaba?’ Ryuji asks, hands in his pockets.

 

“It should be just down this alleyway…” She states.

 

They walk down the alley, and see nothing of note.

 

“You sure you had the cordance correct?” Ren questions.

 

“If they don’t want people to find it, it wouldn’t be labeled.” Mishima points out. “All the shops here are empty. So if you just...feel the wall.” The admin moves his hands across a wall before they all hear an audible click.

 

“Ta da da daaaaaaaa!” Futaba giggles. “We solved the puzzle!”

 

“Save the fanfare for when we actually do something noteworthy.” Ryuji shakes his head as they watch false brick move away to reveal a steel door that seems to need a pass code.

 

“You...wouldn’t happen to know the code would you?” Ren looks to Akechi who simply shakes his head.

 

“So much for insider intel…” Ryuji lowers is head. “How are we gonna get into the system if we can’t even open the door?”

 

“Hmmm…” Mishima looks at the keypad. “No numbers, so the code has to be a phrase or word.”

 

“Given this is Shido...try ‘Arc’.” Ren suggests.

 

Futaba punches it in, only for an “X” to appear.

 

“No dice.”

 

They try a few more codes before sighing.

 

“What could it be?” Ryuji leans up against the opposing wall.

 

“...I got it.” Akechi whispers before typing in a long phrase.

 

“It’s not gonna wor-”

 

_Access granted_

 

“What was the word?” Futaba asks.

 

“Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.”

 

He then walks in, leaving the rest confused.

 

“Was that...French?”

 

They walk in as Futaba sends the phrase to the others.

 

An alarm sounds in the Mansion lab, Zagreus steps out of a room to check.

 

“It seems they took the bait…” He smirks.

 

“Sir..what do we do?” A reluctant female researcher asks.

 

“Boot up Atropos.exe and allow it to roam.”

 

“And then what?” She asks, typing in a code.

 

“Let our new friends join the fun as well….”

 

The sound of fists slamming against glass can be heard from the room Zagerus came out of, which causes him to laugh.

 

“Beginning transport process…”

 

Back with the groups, Mishima is looking over the pods.

 

“This...doesn’t look safe...at all.”

 

“It should function as intended though. Those schematics were extremely detailed.” Futaba flips on some lights.

 

“Plus, we can’t waver right now. We need to figure out what the plan for this device exactly entails…” Alkechi throws his hat on the ground and undoes his hair.

 

“Well...then…” Ren clears his throat.

 

No one makes a move to enter in a pod.

 

“Stop being a bunch of babies!” Futaba sighs as she proceeds to shove each guy into the pods.

 

“Do we need to like...sleep or whatever?” Ryuji asks. “It’s gonna pretty much be our brains hooked up to this shit so…”

 

“According to this, it’ll put you in a sleep-like state. You’ll be alert but you can’t hear anything from the outside world.”

 

“Well let's do this shit. Start it up Futaba.”  Ren lays down, as does the other guys.

 

“I gotta sync up with the others first.” Futaba opens comms. “Do the rest of you copy?”

 

“Team Aigis is in position.”

 

“Team Envoy...r-ready!”

 

“Team Labrys is all set.”

 

“Rise’s team is good to go!”

 

“Fuuka’s squad is all set!”

 

“Mkay!” Futaba nods. “In three...two...one.”

 

All the pods close as the machine activates.

 

The next thing the group of Persona users see is a green lush field with a stone pathway leading to what appears to be a town.

 

“We...actually made it?” Ann asks, looking around. “Wow…”

Minato nods. “Interesting…”

 

Suddenly, hologram screens appear.

 

**_For a more easier time traversing this world, please choose your preferred fighting style._ **

 

“Fighter, bard, mage...what is all this?” Akihiko questions.

 

“It’s asking us to select our classes.” Mishima explains.

 

“Could you explain in layman's terms please?” Mitsuru asks.

 

“Basically, in MMOS, you have an option for how you’ll play in the game from a pretty big list. Using weapons or fists, magic, or just being a support for example.” Minato explains. “Seems Shido had this done as a way to see how his soldiers would fight, since you don’t always know how a Persona is going to function…”

 

Minato scrolls quickly and selects a dark blue robed outfit. “Surprised they had my Dread Knight class as an option….”

 

“Well...I’m gonna want to be able to move pretty fast...maybe Ninja for me?” Yosuke selects it, changing into a green and orange ninja uniform with a long scarf. “Agh! I wasn’t expecting the scarf to be _this_ long!”

 

Yu selects his next, changing into white armor. “...this counts as a Samurai? I was expecting a headpiece.”

 

_“Looks like it’s based off of Ember Sign: Choices. Tokayuma’s armor looked like a snow crab and he rarely wore the headdress.”_ Futaba explains.

 

“There’s a Trickster class?” Ren asks, selecting it as he changes into black robes. “I was gonna go with what I normally use in Shade Souls but, might as well embrace my fated title right?”

 

“I’m guessing you use Wanderer in Shade Souls...it just...fits you.” Mishima shakes his head, “Hm...there’s a lot here….”

 

“Yeah...I dunno where to begin…” Chie seems confused as she scrolls. “All I’ve ever played is Capsule Monsters and Jack Bros….”

 

“I’ve never even had a reason to play video games until now.” Akihiko admits. “Unless you count that dancing machine in the arcades…”

 

Futaba and Minato audibly sigh. This would take longer than they first thought.

 

Back in the real world, Zagreus is standing over the central Olympus device.

 

“Enough waiting around. The Persona users can have their fun...but I must prepare my soldiers for war.”

 

He opens up a command module and a wire comes out of the console.

 

His researchers all watch with concern. The female speaks up. “Sir...are you sure about this?”

 

“Of course I am.” He smirks. “I wish to see first hand the chaos that shall spring forth.”

 

Connecting himself to Olympus, he appears in a stone base...where five figures in warped Phoenix Ranger Featherman gear stand at attention.

 

“At ease.” The now human looking Weapon states. “This whole world….it’s all built from code. Much like myself.”

 

He picks a flower, looking at it closely. “But so too, is the real world. We are all just data and happenstance.” He crushes the bud, watching as the petals fall pathetically to the ground.

 

“I wish to alter the coding of humanity, and bring about a new world where life is effortless...and eternal.”

 

He glances over at his soldiers. “And you five will be among the ones who shall help.”

 

The teal suited ranger nods. “Of course.”

 

“Watch and observe from afar. Do not engage just yet.” He adjusts his glasses. “The stage must be set…”

 

“Shall we gather the programs, sir?” The red suited asks.

 

“Yes. Dispatch them to every corner of the world, and feel free to mess with the random file denizens as well... “

 

The five nod as they all leave.

 

He chuckles. “You see, doctor? I don’t require family or even friends. Fear and manipulation works just fine. Humans are so strange...they cling on to just about every flawed thing in the world, including themselves. Flaws should not exist in my Japan. Nor should pointless feelings like love and admiration.”

 

Dusting off a chair in the center of the fort, he sits. “Begin construction protocol.”

 

The weathered fortress starts to slowly build itself….

 

Back with the persona users, Futaba is trying her best to explain to the others about classes.

 

“No no, Morgana. Blue mage is all about support. Do that and you’ll be fine.”

 

“But I’d prefer Yellow….”

 

She audibly facepalms. “It’s just a name.”

 

Mishima stands with Ann. “Here, you can modify the class to keep your whip.”

 

“Enchantress does sound cool….”

 

Yosuke looks over at Ryuji. “I’m...not shocked you’d go with Pirate.”

 

“...what?”

 

Minato seems to be working fast, helping his friends with classes.

 

“War Clerk huh? This is...strange but if it works I guess…” Yukari shrugs.

 

Junpei goes over his outfit. “How the heck do you even pronounce this class?”

 

“Myrmidon? It’s kinda straight forward.” Mishima states, trying to help Yusuke not take five days to pick a class based solely on design.

 

Chie shighs, arms folded. “Basara...it’s description works for me, it’s just...I don’t like the name.”

 

“What? It describes you perfectly.” Yosuke laughs. “Headstrong, and willing to take risks no matter how dumb.”

 

Yukiko starts laughing. “I’m just...picturing Chie as one of those guys from that anime with burly men and...ahaha!”

 

“You two are so not helping!”

“You can actually wear whatever, so it’s fine.” Minato states.

 

“If that’s the case then…” Chie chooses the class and appears in a kung fu outfit.

 

“...why am I not surprised?” Kanji shakes his head.

 

Naoto has already changed, although her outfit is the same.

 

_“Naoto? Are you going to choose a class yet?”_ Rise asks.

 

“Hm? I already did, I just didn’t feel the need to cosplay like the rest of you. This is a serious matter after all.”

 

Minato selects the Lord class for Mitsuru and she gains pistine black armor, befitting a protagonist.

 

“That may be the case, but these outfits do have armor. We have no idea what we will be fighting here, after all.”

 

Futaba sighs. _“You guys are taking far too long!”_

 

She types in a code and gives the remaining people classes.

 

_“Spear fighter for Ken, Yukiko as a mage since we need offense, Akihiko as a Monk, Haru as a Brigand...I made sure to give your outfit flair, Makoto as a Brawler, Mishima as a marksmen, Barbarian for Kanji, Teddie as a Red Mage, ...and Jester for Akechi.”_

 

“I refuse.” Akechi changes his class to trickster.

 

“Are we all set then?” Mitsuru looks around. “Well then let's start heading to that town ahead.”

 

“Starting towns always tell the plot of the game, so maybe we can figure out what we need to do.”

 

The group walks on the stone path, taking in the fields before them as they walk. Casual talk commences and for the most part it is calming.

 

Something however...flickers into view in the corner of Yosuke’s left eye. Looking to the source...he sees a man. Or woman? It’s hard to tell. They’re surrounded by blood red butterflies that seem to be sprouting from the thick leather boots they don. Their clothing...robes that flow along in the wind created by the flaps of the insects. And the skin...pale as that of a vampire.

 

A chill goes down Yosuke’s spine. Turning to Teddie he pulls on the blond shadow’s shirt.

“Hey...Ted? Do you see that guy over there?” He points to the strange figure.

 

The bear looks over, but sees...nothing. “What guy, Yosuke? All I see is a few trees and a broken wagon.”

 

“Maybe...maybe I’m just tired.” He sighs...shaking his head.

 

They keep walking...but as they go, something that feels like a Mosquito bite nips the brunette on the neck. He pays it no mind however…

 

As the group reaches the town, they see all sorts of people going about their day. It’s a fantasy world come to life…

 

“Whoa...look at the detail.” Junpei marvels.

 

“We need to stay on guard, this was developed by Shido’s followers…” Akechi looks around.

 

A young lady with long red hair runs up to Ren, looking panicked.

 

“Are you the leader of this band of heroes?” She asks, hopeful.

 

“Uh...yeah I guess I am.” He responds, casually.

 

“Thank the gods! Please, all of you must follow me to the church. I cannot guarantee our safety here in the open.”

 

The group follows her into a worn down church, with stained glass broken in places. Ann audibly gasps.

 

“What happened here?” She asks.

 

“The dark lords...they ravage the world, destroying everything in sight.” She looks up. “Legends foretell of a large band of heroes who will destroy the lords and reshape this world.”

 

“And you believe us to be that very group?” Akihiko crosses his arms, unconvinced.

 

“I do, you all bear the sacred weapons after all.”

 

Everyone looks at their gear, noting the gold and white shine on them.

 

“W-Wait, when did we get these?!” Yosuke asks.

 

_“Video Game logic, you’re gonna need to just deal with it.”_ Futaba explains.

“So, if we’re the heroes of the fable...then where might we find our first opponent?” Naoto asks, putting her pistol away.

 

“He stays where a farm once lay...in a fortress known as Golder...no one who has tried to enter it has returned alive.” She points westward. “The journey to it is heavy with the Lord’s minions however, it shall prove to be a treacherous path.”

 

“Well just leave it to us, we’re skilled enough fighters to handle this!” Mishima smiles.

 

“Oh thank you so much! May the gods be with you on your journey!”

 

The group leaves the church and starts to wander around town. But a few of them start to hold their heads.

 

“Yo...is anyone else getting a headache?” Ryuji asks, grumbling a bit.

 

“I am…” Akechi responds.

 

_“Lemme check something. ...hmm yeah just as I thought. This is taking a lot of mental strain on you guys.”_ Futaba explains. _“This won’t be a speed run after all. I’m gonna call you guys back into reality while I figure things out.”_

 

“At least let us get into the field on the other side of town first.” Minato states. “If this thing saves where we were last, it might be for the best that we start on the road when we get back in.”

 

_“Fine, but we’re gonna pull out whoever we think is gonna need to be pulled out first.”_

 

The group walks through the town’s marketplace. And again...Yosuke sees that figure, this time smiling.

 

Again? Yosuke thinks to himself that it’s probably just a bug in the game and keeps following the group.

 

But he can’t shake the feeling that something is going on.

 

As soon as they all reach the field, the navigators pull the team out of the system and back into reality. They all then decide to meet up in a hotel so they don’t stray too far from the nodes.

 

Mitsuru goes to pay for the rooms as everyone waits around. Yosuke seems slightly out of it, but no one other then Yu seems to notice.

 

“You going to be alright sleeping, Yosuke?” Yu asks in a hushed voice. “I know you’ve mentioned having trouble with it since you graduated high school.”

“I should be okay. I just think this VR stuff isn’t my thing….” He sighs. “But it’s to protect people, so I gotta deal with it, right?”

 

Yu smiles and nods. “Right.”

 

Mitsuru looks to everyone. “I booked  rooms for ten days. I can add more should this take longer. Pair up as you see fit.”

 

Everyone groups up, Yu and Yosuke going with Kanji and Teddie to a room.

 

“It’s just like the school trip!” Teddie smiles.

 

“Except no rotating water bed.” Kanji sounds happy. “But, this is as big as the rooms get huh?” He sighs.

 

“Well if we each got our own individual room, it would be rude.” Yu explains. “We’ll need to split these two beds.”

 

“Well, Ted you can be with me if you wa-” But before Yosuke can finish, Teddie grabs Kanji’s arm.

 

“Sorry, but I already have dibs on Kanji!”

 

“Well that’s whatever then, you keep me up at night as is anyhow.” Yosuke shakes his head.

 

Teddie and Kanji go to a corner in the room, where Kanji looks impressed.

 

“That was...kinda smooth on your part.”

 

“Really? I thought it was simple enough.” He winks.

 

The four get ready for bed...but while most are asleep...Yosuke is having trouble.

 

While the night is mostly calm, there’s a strange feeling in the air that the brunette just can’t shake. The air in the room seems to be moving...but not like there’s an AC going. Like there’s something...or someone in there.

 

“You must have really liked her, did you not?”

 

The Junes employee jolts up in his bed to see the person from before, their robes flowing without a source of wind to be seen aside from the air conditioner blasting cold air. But the air feels all the more frigid now that this person is back again. The blood red butterflies scatter along the room, resting on the bed or sheets while the person calmly walks over to Yosuke.

“I don’t know who the hell you are...or how you’re here. But leave.” Yosuke tries his best to sound tough in the face of this figure, but he’s shaken. Yu moves lightly in his sleep beside him, seemingly unaffected by what’s going on.

 

The figure chuckles a bit, almost in amusement. “My, my, aren’t you menacing?” they tease in a mocking tone, eyes glancing over at the brunette. They walk ever so closer to them, the butterflies seeming to multiply from nowhere as the person continues their way forward.

 

“What did she mean to you?” they seem to ask him as they walk forward, “You obviously still feel sorry about what happened to her. Why do you feel that way? Is there something that you want to do, you wannabe hero?” A smile tugs at the person’s lips as Yosuke’s eyes widen in fear.

 

_“Hana-chan. I didn’t need to die. It’s your fault! You’re the reason I’m gone!”_

 

Yosuke holds his head, the butterflies crawling all over him as he tries to ignore the voices.

 

_“This is your fault. Had you cared, my family wouldn’t be broken. Had you never came to Inaba we would be FINE!”_

 

“Stop...please…”

 

“You wish for it to stop? None of this is my doing; this is the truth that you hold in your mind.”

 

“Make it stop…”

 

“I can offer you freedom...just allow them to guide you... _Hana-chan_.”

 

The red butterflies seem to cover his whole body, swallowing and suffocating him. But no one else seems to notice his struggles.

 

_Inaba?_

 

Yosuke wakes up to find himself in his bedroom in his home. Something he hasn’t seen in a while.

 

“What? I..I thought I was…”

 

“Yosuke if you sleep in any longer, you’ll be late for school!”

 

Oh crap! Yosuke bolts out of bed, gets dressed and rushes to school. Any previous questions have left his mind.

 

“Wait..what’s today’s date again?” He pulls out his cellphone to check but then his eyes widen in fear.

 

“Today’s...the day Saki-sempai finds…”

 

He picks up his speed, getting to class.

 

He needed to wait until the right time, and his friends can notice his worry.

 

“Hey, Yukiko...Yosuke’s acting weird.” Chie whispers to her friend. “Think something happened?”

 

“He probably just overslept.” Yukiko sounds uncaring as she works on her paper.

 

Yosuke keeps glancing at the clock in the classroom, trying his best to hide his worry.

 

Yu starts to say something, but chooses against it.

 

During the final subject of the day, Yosuke can hear footsteps in the stairwell. Someone was leaving.

 

He doesn’t even bother to ask to leave as he bolts out of the classroom. Who gives a shit about school when there’s a chance that he could save someone?

 

He follows the person leaving, and just as he thought...it’s Saki. Taking a deep breath, he walks up to her.

 

“Heading off on your own? Isn’t that kinda lonely?” Yosuke jokes, trying to seem as casual as possible. He can’t alarm her.

 

“Hana-chan? What are you doing out right now? School’s still in session.” She responds.

 

“Could ask you the same question.” He states, a bit more serious this time.

 

“I..I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “I just got this...odd feeling that I just needed to leave…”

 

Odd feeling...did Izanami-no-Okami do something to try to lure her to the body then? He needed to fight back.

 

“You might be sick. I can cover your shift today if you want.” He winks.

 

“But this is the day off you’ve been trying to get for weeks, I don’t want to take that away from you.” She states.

 

“Eh, don’t worry about it. If you’re sick, they’ll just make you go home anyway right?”

 

“That is true…” She sighs.

 

They’re nearing where the corpse is, and Yosuke can already see it out of the corner of his eye. “Anywhere you were trying to head to in particular?”

 

“Not that I can think of…” Saki really looks out of it.

 

She might hate him deep down, but that doesn’t change the fact that if he can prevent her death...she’ll be able to graduate.

 

“Follow me.” Yosuke leads her down another road...but she starts moving slowly. As if something is telling her to go the way she’s meant to.

 

“I...I remember where I need to go. Head back to class, Hana-chan. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

 

Before Yosuke can say anything, Saki turns around and resumes the path she was on. He can’t stop her here…

 

He isn’t supposed to.

 

“Damnit…”

 

He hears her screams as she finds the body...but decides to walk back. If he can’t stop her finding Yamano’s corpse...then all he has to do is prevent her murder.

 

The following day seems to be a blur, people talking about the corpse and interview. But Yosuke knows what happens tonight.

 

And he needed to intercept Adachi before she gets shoved in.

 

Yu finally manages to poke his friend, concerned. “Hey, you’re scowling a lot you know.”

 

“I..it’s nothing.” Yosuke shakes his head.

 

He offers to help close up shop at Junes, and waits until he’s the last one in the store.

 

“...I don’t have Jiraiya do I…?”” He touches the TV...only to see it move. “I guess I do. This’ll make things easy then…”

 

Leaving the store, Yosuke notices Saki walking to the police station.

Damnit..he needs to hurry!

 

Following her slowly, he sees that no one else is in the station...except for Adachi.

 

“I won’t let you get away with this this time…” Yosuke mutters...quietly drawing one kunai.

 

“What’s this about anyways...? Didn’t you call me in for more questions…?”

 

“Well we’ll get to that. You know I saw you this afternoon.”

 

Adachi slowly corners Saki, as she tries desperately to get away

 

He starts to put his hands on her...and Yosuke throws a Kunai.

 

“What the hell?!” Adachi looks over, as the weapon just barely missed the two of them.

 

“Saki run! Get out of here!”

 

She’s petrified...but she starts to move...only for Adachi to grab her again.

 

“I didn’t clear you to leave, bitch.”

 

Yosuke kicks Adachi in the face, trying to draw his attention away from Saki. But he only makes things worse as he’s also grabbed.

 

“If you’re so determined to be with her, then fine. You can both go into that hellhole!” He pushes the duo against the TV, slowly forcing them in.

 

“If I’m being forced into hell...then _I’m dragging you with me.”_ Yosuke mangages to wrap his legs around Adachi’s neck as all three fall into the TV together.

 

As they all land, Yosuke looks around as the Twisted Shopping District slowly forms from the foggy stage. He needed to act fast, or else Saki’s shadow…

 

“Great...not how I was planning this to go.” Adachi sighs. “No matter, maybe now I can see how that first one died.”

 

Saki looks around, confused. But Yosuke is already summoning Susan-O.

 

“The hell? What are you-”

 

“I’m not going to take any chances.” Yosuke has his Persona strike Adachi before he can have a chance to summon his. “You kill your second victim today, and ruin the life of a family.”

“Like Junes isn’t already doing that?” Adachi retorts, moving away from strikes as he draws his pistol. “Saving her isn’t gonna magically make the family's loss of revenue vanish.”

 

“You’re trying to justify murder.” Susnan-O attacks again, but Magsu-Izanagi blocks it..finally coming out.

 

“Says the kid who’s actively trying to kill me. What are you gonna get outta playing hero anyway?”

 

Yosuke stops for a second...before a hand touches his shoulder.

 

“Don’t stop now. Things are just starting to get fun!”

 

Taking a glance, Yosuke sees his Shadow...despite his persona already being out.

 

“Kill him. It’s not like he’s doing much in the way of helping Inaba anyway. Maybe then people will finally respect us!” His shadow laughs.

 

“Yeah...you have a point.”

 

“Then don’t disappoint me.”

 

Yosuke starts fighting Adachi, not one ounce of regret has he goes. He can hear his conscience playing faint echoes of his friends' voices, telling him not to go the path Adachi himself did.

 

But in his rage, the brunette ignores them as he manages to badly damage his opponents Persona and pin Adachi to the ground by his coat with his Kunai. He kicks the gun out of the dick’s hand and picks it up.

  


“Ha, you’ve got it in your hand right...but despite that it looks like you got distracted. That bitch Saki already got killed by the monster she denied while we were fighting.”

 

Taking a small glance, he sees the remains of a struggle that he ignored. He couldn’t prevent her death.

 

“So much for being a hero, huh?”

 

Yosuke places the gun at Adachi’s forehead. “Yeah...so much for that.”

 

_The Hotel_

 

Morning comes, and Yosuke is sound asleep. Yet he’s struggling…as if fighting something in his dreams.

 

Yu opens an eye, seeing his friend in distress. “Guess I should wake him up…” He lightly shakes him. “Come on, we’re gonna miss breakfast if you don’t-”

 

But Yosuke wakes up and looks at Yu with a cold stare. “You’re still alive? I thought I killed you.”  His tone is slightly unnerving.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Eh, no matter...it’s more satisfying to do so multiple times.” Yosuke walks over to his bag and draws his Kunai before lunging at Yu who barely has enough time to block with his still sheathed Katana.

 

“What the hell is wrong with you, Yosuke?!”

 

“DIE!”

 

Kanji and Teddie wake up to the comotion almost immediately.

 

“That shit ain’t right.” Kanji jumps out of bed and decks Yosuke hard as he falls limp on the ground.

 

All three are panting hard from shock and fear. And no one knows what just went down…

 

Kanji picks up the now unconscious Yosuke and Teddie and Yu grab their backpacks.

 

“We need to let the others know...this seems abnormal. Yosuke wouldn’t just...attack me like that…” Yu sighs.

 

They head to the lobby where everyone else is waiting. Chie taps her foot impaently along with Minato. Both seem unhappy to have to wait for everyone to show up to start eating.

 

“Ugh, there you four are!” Chie exclaims.

 

“We can’t afford to sleep in you know…” Minato adds.

 

“We weren’t sleeping in.” Yu states. “Something is wrong with Yosuke.”

 

Akihiko walks over to them. “I was about to ask why Kanji was carrying him Bridal style…”

 

“He woke up...and tried to kill me.” Yu states in a hushed tone.

Breakfast would have to be postponed.

 

Aigis does a scan of the knocked out magician, before looking frustrated. “I cannot seem to find any issues biologically. He has no fever and nothing seems wrong with his pulse.”  

 

Everyone looks at Yosuke, wondering before Futaba perks up.

 

“Hey, did Yosuke say anything weird in Olympus?”

 

“He mentioned seeing a guy.” Teddie states. “But I didn’t see anything..”

 

“Maybe Olympus did something to him.” Ryuji punches his right fist into his left hand. “It’s gotta be powered by something cognitive if we can possibly use Persona in there right?”

 

“So it’d be like a virus in a video game transporting to the main PC…” Mishima states. “But how would we get rid of it? We kinda need Yosuke ...”

 

“We just have to shake him out of it.” Yu states. “If it happened in Olympus, then it can be stopped there too.”

 

“Then let’s go there now.” Akechi states. “He may wake up soon, and if he strikes in public we might get kicked out of the Hotel.”

  


The group all heads to their node locations, Kanji carrying Youske. Once they arrive, Futaba opens comms to give instructions.

 

“Alright, all of you are going to need to head into the pods _before_ Yosuke. Rise will put him in a few seconds after. But all of you need to be ready to fight when he logs in.”

 

Yu looks down. “After what happened in the castle...I’m not too willing to fight any of my friends.”

 

“You don’t have to be the one to do it, Sempai. We can let the others do-”

 

“But I do want to save him. Whatever happened...it’s because of my lack of attention. I should have been more alert yesterday.” Yu walks into his pod without another word.

 

“Yu seems fired up…” Kanji states. “Well we gotta go in too, bear.”

 

Everyone gets in as the machines start up.

 

_“Okay is everyone online?”_ Futaba asks.

 

“Yes.” Yu states, unsheathing his sword as the others follow suit.

 

_“I’m about to put Yosuke online. Be prepared to go into combat as soon as he comes in.”_ Rise states.

 

_“Please be careful, everyone.”  Envoy adds._

 

_“Going online in three….”_

 

Yu gets everyone in a formation, taking over as the leader of the group.

 

_“Two….”_

 

Everyone draws their weapons, some nervous...others ready for anything.

 

_“One!”_

 

Yosuke appears, and without a single word goes right to lunging at Yu...the long scarf flowing as his movements quicken.

 

Yu tries his best to block the oncoming kunai strikes. He doesn’t want to hurt his friend, not after all that had gone on this year…

 

“Yosuke snap out of this! I don’t know what happened but you gotta listen!” He cries out, still not moving.

 

“Just shut up and die. No one needs trash like you around.” Yosuke growls back.

 

“Damnit!” Yu hissis. “Form a circle around him! And start to slowly tighten it. He needs open space to fight properly so if we limit the amount of space he has to work with he’ll be easier to down.”

 

“Should we Zio him, Sempai?” Kanji asks. “It might make it easier for you to get him.”

 

_“I wouldn’t risk it.”_ Futaba states. _“Remember how I said we need to track your vitals? Well if you hurt him too much, it’ll start showing up in the real world.”_

 

“In other words...if we need to avoid anything that would normally knock him out or...it’ll kill him.” Mishima states. “Let’s do Yu’s plan!”

 

“Whatever dumbass plan you and your lackeys have, it’s not gonna work, Adachi!” Yosuke lunges once again.

 

“Adachi?” Yu blinks, which is enough for Yosuke to deliver a hard strike in the stomach with a kick.

 

Yu coughs up a bit of blood as he looks over at his best friend...who apparently sees him as Adachi. But...why?

 

“He’s blinded…” Ann states. “No...it’s better to say he’s _distorted_.”

 

“You mean like a Shadow?” Chie asks.

 

“Yeah.” Ren nods. “A shadow that’s gone berserk.”

 

“Well if it’s anything like when we fought our own Shadows...we just gotta beat the shit out of him.” Kanji sighs. “But he’s harder to hit. Yu can keep up with him all well and good, but that’s because they’re super close…”

 

_“And Sempai’s not too keen on hurting Yosuke. The only time he really has was back when Labrys and later Sho held those tournaments.”_ Rise sighs. _“The only way you’re gonna be able to stop his movements is to pin him to the ground some how.”_

 

_“If Yu-kun can keep Yosuke busy, then the rest of you can trap him.”_ Labrys states.

 

“Which of us has the best shot of doing that though?” Akechi states, getting into a defensive stance.

 

“Perhaps Mishima?” Naoto looks over at the admin, who has been carefully watching the fight.

 

“I can try. But I’m not the best shot with the crossbow just yet…”

 

Ken smiles. “You got this Yuuki-kun.”

 

Mishima pears into the crosshairs on his crossbow as he observes Yosuke’s movements. The clash between best friends is moving too fast for the new Persona user to keep tabs on. Where does he aim? What if he shoots Yu by mistake? _What if he kills Yu by mistake?_ He shakes his head and tries to focus.

 

Two bolts fire out, sinking right into Yosuke’s long scarf and pinning him to the ground like stakes keeping a tent in. The Magician struggles to get free but is unable to.

 

“Nice shootn’ Mishima!” Ryuji grins widely. “You stopped him!”

 

“Thanks but...I haven’t fired one shot!” The new recruit admits.

 

“But you’re the only one who uses Crossbows. If you didn’t fire... _then who stopped Yosuke?”_

 

The group turns their attention to a single figure standing before them. A cloak waves in the wind, torn at the end and spiked collar seems to complete the silhouette. Stepping into the false sunlight, the figure is revealed.

 

“I thought this was just going to be a simple reunion...but it seems there’s trouble again. I guess I picked the right time to come. It’s been a while, Narukami and Aritsato.”

 

Both fools look at the young man before them, their gut saying they should know him but their minds are unable to recall.

 

Kanji decks the pinned Yosuke and they watch as he vanishes.

 

Yu’s attention to the figure breaks as he sees this. “W-Where did he go?”

 

_“Seems he woke up in the pod somehow. I can’t contact Rise for some reason however...seems she turned her mic off.”_ Futaba states.

 

In the real world, Yosuke stumbles out of the pod shaking like a leaf. He looks around, pinches his own cheek before looking over at Rise.

 

“Did...any of it actually happen?” He asks, a scared tone in his voice.

 

“You were in some sorta vision weren’t you…?” Rise walks over to him but Yosuke just hugs her.

 

“It was...awful. But it came out of my head…didn’t it? All of you...all of you were…”

 

“It’s alright, Yosuke. You don’t need to worry. We saved you...you’re okay now..” She comforts him.

 

“Okay? ...that’s something that’ll probally never be true…” He shakes his head.

 

“You know... _he’s_ still worried sick.” She smiles. “I’m sure you don’t want to keep him waiting.”

 

“...yeah. You’re right.” Yosuke smiles sadly, wiping tears from his eyes. “Thanks for this, Rise. And uh...don’t tell the others alright?”

 

“Tell them about what?” She winks.

 

Yosuke laughs before heading back into the pod, regrouping with the rest before Yu cautiously walks up to him.

 

“Are you...back?” He asks, seemingly ready to defend again if need be.

 

“Yeah...I’m back again.” Yosuke smiles.

 

The cloaked young man sighs. “Well if you don’t mind filling me in on what’s going on, I can better help.”

 

“Uh we ain’t tellin’ you shit until you tell us who you are.” Kanji crosses his arms. “Yo are we able to get a scan on this guy?”

 

_“This is weird. I’m picking up signals that should be human like you guys but...also not at the same time?”_ Futaba explains.

 

“You don’t recall who I am? Yu and Minato aided in the recovery of Rei and I’s memories in the Labyrinths yet now they’re the ones to forget.” The young man seems slightly conflicted.

 

“Not really ringing any bells…” Minato sighs. “Wait..”

 

Yu looks to Minato. “There were those time anomalies Futaba found while we were on journeys. Maybe the reason we can’t remember...is because we met in that time frame.”

 

Junpei nods. “Would make sense.”

 

“I see...so it was a paradox prevention.” He nods. “Well, in that case I shall reintroduce myself. I am Zen. Formerly a guide to the departed, but I now simply dwell within the Sea of Souls as a protector.”

 

“Zen..” Yu nods. “Yeah the name seems familiar.”

 

“Welp, friends of the Investigation Team and Ops already got our trust right Joker?” Ryuji asks.

 

“Yeah.” Ren smiles. “We’re the Phantom Thieves. Given how you didn’t know us, I’m sure we weren’t caught up in a time anomaly as well.”

 

“I wouldn’t know either way.” Zen shrugs. “But where are we exactly?”

 

“You mean you didn’t hook up to Olympus like the rest of us?” Yosuke asks, confused.

 

“Hook...up? What do you mean?”

 

_“It appears Zen’s whole being has been manifested within the program.”_ Aigis reports.

 

“How though?” Makoto asks.

 

_“Maybe it’s because he’s different from us?”_

 

Everyone shrugs. Perhaps they shouldn’t dwell on the topic for now.

 

“Well we should get back on track now guys.” Yosuke smiles, sheathing his kunai. “We’ve gotta head to the first ‘Demon Lord’ right?”

 

“Right. They’re probably core programs keeping this world running. Destroy them and this will be freed from the controls of Conspiracy.” Akechi smirks.

 

They head out, and are immediately surrounded by Shadows.

 

“They’re blocking us in on all sides.” Zen states. “Do we have a plan to deal with them?”

 

“Kick their ass and move on!” Ren smirks.

 

“...very well.” He nods.

 

They break off into smaller groups as they fend off the shadows.

 

“Slime on your left, Partner!” Yosuke calls out.

 

“Demon Table on your right!” Yu responds.

 

Both dispatch the respective shadows, moving to strike more in almost unison.

 

_“Is it just me, or are Yu and Yosuke more insync then normal?”_ Rise notes.

 

_“They’re best friends right? They’re naturally that close.”_ Envoy chuckles.

 

_“True...but this feels somehow...different.”_

 

Zen and Mishima take shots at shadows from a good distance.

 

“Your form is sloppy. Relax your arms and look to the weakest part of your target.” Zen glances over at the young thief.

 

“Like this?” Mishima fires at a blob type shadow right in the center of the mask, shattering it.

 

“Yeah, just like that.” Zen offers a small smile. “But don’t let your guard down, one misstep can cost you everything.”

 

Ren is holding up a shadow. “Now are you an actual shadow, or are you just some sort of program created by Shido’s dogs?”

 

“You tell me...are you Ren Amamiya...or Arsene?” The shadow responds.

 

“What do you…?” But Akechi kills the shadow before he can get an answer.

 

“Don’t bother questioning these things. They’ll try to mess with your head, they’re made by _him_ after all.”

 

“How can you be sure? For all we know, they could have gotten that meteorite.”

 

The shadows continue their onslaught as the party fends them off to the best of their abilities.

 

“Hey, if we have these ‘Holy Weapons’ doesn’t that mean they have some sorta hidden ability?”  Mishima asks, looking at his bowstaff and crossbow. “It’s how it normally goes. Like the Monad from Xeioblade, the Lord Sword, the f-”

 

_“We don’t need a lesson in gaming, Yuuki!”_ Rise states.

 

“R-Right.”

 

“If they have any ability, they wouldn’t be active this early in the journey. It would be like if we all awakened with our ultimate Personas.” Minato states. “We might have to pass some sort of trial to awaken those abilities.”

 

The First Demon Lord shows his face among the hoard of shadows.

 

“Foolish followers of the Sea, your journey shall end by my hand!”

 

“He’s coming at us!” Akihiko points out. “I’ll take him on, keep the shadows off my tail.”

 

_“Uh Akihiko-sempai I wouldn’t just charge in!”_ Futaba tries to warn.

 

But it’s too late, as the former boxing captain attempts to duke it out with the Demon Lord...only for a helmeted figure to block the oncoming punch with a sword.

 

“Yo...look at the armor on that guy. Doesn’t it look sorta like Akechi’s?”

 

_“A faded teal Fetherman outfit? Doesn’t really fit the medieval theme we have going on here.”_ Futaba sighs. _“This is a DLC free zone bub!”_

 

“It seems Hanamura didn’t stay in his own mind for as long as I hoped…” The figure states, voice hidden and distorted by the mask.

 

“You were the one to do that?! You son of a bitch!” Yosuke charges at the figure.

 

“Persona. Come **_Umisachihiko_ ** **.** ”  The teal suited figure shatters a tarot card as an ornate figure with a bird face, flaming hair and a curved sword emerges from within.

 

“Shit! This guy’s…. _totally weak to my Persona.”_ Yosuke summons Takeaka Susan-O and unleashes a Garu spell.

 

_“Actually Yosuke he-”_ But before Envoy can finish, the spell is reflected back at him.

 

“Shit!” Yosuke is sent back just a bit. “What’s this guy’s weakness then?!”

 

_“Scanning...data seems incomplete.”_ Aigis states.

 

“For real?!” Ryuji moans. “Well we can just beat the crap outta him and his buddies and learn from fighting.”

 

“Futile.” The Teal persona user states, charging as his Persona follows him.

 

“He’s protecting the program! If we can keep him busy, then someone can snipe the glitch!” Akechi states. “Zen, could you or Mishima handle it?”

 

“Keep the shadows off of me while I get into position.” Zen puts his hood on, looking to Mishima. “Observe closely.”

 

“R-Right!”

 

Yosuke exchanges blows with the mystery user as Akihiko backs him up.

 

“This guy, is he a program too? He’s a lot faster then any NPC we’ve seen so far…” Yosuke thinks out loud.

 

“Maybe that’s just how these combative types are.” Akihiko adds.

 

“Partner! We could use another Zio user over here!”

 

“Right!” Yu summons Izanagi and strikes the Teal man with a Ziodine.

 

“AGH!” The suit glitches a bit, showing only a sliver of the face beneath the mask before reforming.

 

_“So he has a face…”_ Futaba nods. _“Go get him while he’s stunned!”_

 

Yu and Yousuke look to each other.

 

“Pincer?” Yosuke asks.

 

“Might as well.” Yu smirks.

 

They both charge the paralyzed target, the two of them running at the same speed. Shadows move to defend Teal.

 

_“Boost them guys!  Break through his defense! And bust those shadows!”_

 

“Very well! **_Heat Riser!_ **” Ren smirks.

 

“Got it! **_Tetrakarn_ **! ” Mishima smiles.

 

“On it! **_Tentafoo!_ **” Ann nods.

 

“Heh, if you insist, **_Oratorio!_ **” Minato smirks.

 

“Dammit...engulf those annoying users!” Teal calls out, struggling to stand as he directs the shadows.

 

Yu and Yosuke slice through the Shadows that guard the paralyzed persona user, approaching him at a great speed. But more shadows spawn in a desperate attempt at keeping their master safe.

 

_“You guys are doing great!”_ Rise claps. _“Keep it up!”_

 

Zen’s eyes focus, however. Something feels off to him. “...stay on guard Mishima.”

 

_Nijiima residence, Tokyo._

 

Sho leans back on the couch, tapping his foot as he checks his phone every few moments. Sae lets out a sigh, shaking her head.

 

“I understand Makoto’s worry for my safety, but shouldn’t you be helping the rest?” Sae asks, looking at the redhead.

 

“I’d rather be helping them, to be honest.” Sho sighs. “But where they’re at...is why I agreed to be your bodyguard.”

 

“It’s a lab, what does that have to do with you?” She questions.

 

“A lot more than you think…” He places a hand on his face, and more specifically, his scar.

 

“Is it something you wish to talk about? I’m willing to listen, you know.”

 

“How can I trust you not to report it to the people you work for…?” He focuses closely on her.

 

“I’m not Shido, I have no use for what you’ll say. I just think seeing you act like this is...out of character compared to our first meeting.” Sae sits closer to him, to better speak.

 

“Fine…”

 

Her phone rings, and she holds up a finger. “It’s Detective Dojima...this could be important.”

 

_“Nijiima? I have news to share that I was told to only share with you.”_

 

“Your tone doesn’t sound too thrilled.” Sae notes, crossing her legs.

 

_“Do you recall the meteorite that fell?”_

 

Sae’s eyes focus as she frowns a bit. “I do, after the chaos it’s all the town talked about during my stay.”

 

_“It’s missing. Kirijo was meant to take it in for study three weeks from now, but I went to check the site for vandals and, it just vanished.”_ Dojima sounds tired as he explains this.

 

“Giant space debris doesn’t just vanish overnight, however. So how was it taken?”

 

_“That’s just it, we have no evidence on the perp. Just that there’s a hole where a rock should be.”_

 

Sho grumbles a bit. “Think it mighta been that Evoker Killer guy the other’s are after?”

 

“But what purpose would he have with it, Sho?”

 

“It’s just a hunch...but maybe it’s connected to that Olympus shit.” He shrugs.

 

_“The kid might be onto something...I’m going to look over all surveillance cams in the area. I’ll keep you two posted.”_

 

“Good luck, Detective.” Sae hangs up.

 

_Dojima Residence, Inaba_

 

“Dad, are you gonna be up late again?” Nanako asks.

 

“Yeah..I’m sorry if I’m worrying you but I’m helping out some of Yu’s friends right now.” He smiles.

 

“If you’re helping Big Bro, then I want to too!” She giggles.

 

“Well, why don’t you keep him in your thoughts then?” He smiles. “He’s doing some serious work right now.”

 

He reaches for his coffee cup as he looks over his notes for the goings on so far...when a sudden sense of unease hits him.

 

“Why do I suddenly feel nervous…?”

 

_Olympus_

 

“Keep the buffs on them! And kill any stragglers!” Mitsuru orders, slicing a shadow in two.

 

_“Yu and Yosuke normally don’t have nearly the amount of energy they do now!”_ Rise notes. _“Keep it up guys!”_

 

“No slowing down! These buffs feel awesome!” Yosuke laughs. “We should fight like this more often!”

 

“Agreed, it’s a change of pace for sure.” Yu smiles.

 

_“Rise, what are their vitals looking like? With how much they’re moving they ought to be feeling some sort of change.”_ Labrys states, looking over her own team’s stats.

 

_“Good point.”_ She looks over and then gasps at the readings glowing in the mostly dim room. _“Guys...this isn’t good!”_

 

“Yo, where’d your enthusiasm go?” Kanji asks as he squashes a shadow.

 

_“It’s their heart rate..._ **_it’s dropping!_ ** _”_

 

Light engulfs the duo as they keep fighting, neither seems to notice their own glow. They're too foucused on fighting the shadows blocking them from Teal.

 

“They’re being forcefully logged out...right?” Mishima asks, looking to Zen.

 

“I do not think that is the case. If their hearts are slowing down...only one answer can be reached in my eyes. And it’s not a positive outlook.”

 

**_“SEMPAI! YOSUKE!”_ **

  
  
  



	5. Hearts and Bonds

The room Rise is in has fallen silent, with only the sound of Kanji and Teddie’s heart monitors filling the void. 

 

She looks to the display that shows her Olympus, but...it’s glitching beyond viewing.

 

“Yu...Yosuke…” She goes to their pods and desperately tries to open them. “Give my friends back!” 

 

_ “..se”  _

 

“Huh?” She stops pulling on Yu’s pod.

 

_ “Rise!”  _ Fuuka’s voice calls out. 

 

“I have audio but no visual it seems. Fuuka, what’s...on your end?” Rise wipes a tear from her eye.

 

_ “I don’t know how I’d describe it but...I don’t think Yu and Yosuke are dead.”  _

 

“But their heart monitors are-”

 

She gains enough of her visual back...and gasps. “Who...is that on the screen?!”

 

**_“Come! Kentaro!”_ **  A figure in pure white armor and a flowing scarf summons a Persona of a young man that is pure gold with a shell on his back and with a tarot none of the others have seen used before.

 

Teal growls, responding by summoning his own Persona again. “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but it’s not going to be enough!” 

 

The mystery user and Teal clash, as the other try their best to help.

 

“Yo, that guy just appeared after Yu and Yosuke collided...right?” Ryuji asks, shooting a shadow.

 

“That one shadow’s question might make sense then.” Minato nods. “Our actual bodies are hooked up to Olympus after all…which means…”

 

“They performed a Persona Fusion?” Junpei asks, killing shadows with Trymisgus.

 

“But they weren’t even trying to! It just sorta happened!” Kanji states, sounding confused.

 

“I don’t think the fusion is permanent like Junpei’s however.” Mitsuru states. “Look at how they’re struggling to move.” 

 

The figure is exchanging blows sword v. sword, but says nothing. Static appears every now and again, as if showing how long it has before resuming the original two.

 

“A timer...hm?” Teal seems to smirk under his mask. “Very well.” 

 

“We need to take advantage of this guy being preoccupied by Yu-no...Yosuke..THEM.” Mishima shakes his head. “Zen, do you think we can get a clear shot on the .exe file there?”

 

“The Demon Lord you mean? Yes, I believe it’s within range.” Zen nods.

 

“Good. Now…” Mishima looks into his crosshairs, and focuses.

 

“Steady your breathing, don’t tense up.” Zen stands behind Mishima.

 

“Right.” 

 

**_“Fall!”_ ** A Zio spell hits Teal.

 

“M’kay, that seems to be in order.” Kanji nods. “Seems they have some of both spells?”

 

“Ngh!” Once again, Teal is paralyzed. 

 

The fusion smirks, going in to finish the job with a quickened pace.

 

_ “Hold up! I finished my scan of Teal!  _ **_That’s not a program!_ ** _ ” _

 

The figure freezes, looking at him. “A...Person?”

 

“Fire now, Mishima.” Zen orders pointing.

 

“TAKE THIS!” He shoots off a bolt, piercing the Demon Lord file in the head as it begins to crack and glitch.

 

“Damnit, seems I couldn’t defend the file in the end.” Teal stands up.

 

“Stop!” Joker orders. “If you’re a person...then who  _ are _ you?”

 

“Who...am I?” He repeats, holding his head a bit. “I am....nothing but an officer of Zagreus’ new world.” He runs off, the rest of the shadows fleeing alongside him. 

 

The fusion is covered in static before Yu and Yosuke both collapse onto the grass. 

 

“What was that…?” Yu asks. 

 

“I don’t know but...I don’t want to know either.” Yosuke states, voice muffled by the ground.

 

Both glance at each other, slightly sad looks on their faces.

 

_ “Yu and Yosuke’s heartbeats are back!”  _

 

“We’re all back to normal, then?” Minato smiles, hand on his hip.

 

“Seems that way.” Ryuji sighs. “But Teal is a person?”

 

“Yeah. I couldn’t get a good glimpse on the arcana though…” Ren sighs. “But he seemed pretty skilled.”

 

“I mean, this is a program designed to train people with the hidden potential to be users.” Yukari reminds the group. “So he could be a veteran user or a newbie.”

 

“Who could this…’Zagreus’ be anyhow?” Chie asks. “Is he our Weapon?”

 

_ “Zagreus…”  _ Envoy sounds tired.  _ “I know that name…” _

 

“Yo, are some of your memories coming back?” Ryuji asks, worried.

 

_ “I am...not like you Ryuji.”   _

 

“I mean, yeah. We’re different people and-”

 

_ “No, I mean I am not human.”  _

 

Ryuji blinks. “So...what are you then?”

 

_ “I cannot say, my mind is still foggy.”  _ He sighs.  _ “But Zagreus, I know he was my pursuer.” _

 

Minato puts a hand to his chin and nods. “So our Weapon we’re chasing down was pursuing Envoy, and somehow in the process he lost his memories.”

 

Morgana pushes some hair out of his face and nods. “Seems we have some investigating to do. Think we might find clues in here?”

 

“I mean, if this dude finished this program, it’s gotta have a lot of personal stuff too right?” Yosuke asks. “Plus, after that messed up vision I was forced into, I want payback.”

 

“Vision?” Yu asks, tilting his head.

 

“It’s nothing, so don’t worry.” The brunette sighs waving his hand in a dismissive manner, heading out.

 

The party presses on, running into some Shadow stragglers along the way. 

 

The fights with them last no longer then a few seconds each.

 

“Geez, these things are super weak compared to what we just fought.” Ryuji states, killing one with a club strike.

 

“Maybe it’s because these are wild while the others were trained?” Minato explains. “It’s a difference seen in a lot of games.”

 

“You’ve been gone for how long now, and you still have a keen memory on Video Games? It’s surprising to say the least.” Yukari shakes her head, laughing.

 

“That reminds me, Minato.” Mishima asks. “I was wondering...what was it like...you know..?” 

 

The blue haired fool looks down, which causes a glare from Junpei.

 

“You don’t just go asking that, Mishima. Seriously!” 

 

“S-Sorry, it just kind of..slipped.”

 

“No, it’s fine. It’s only natural for a person to wonder what it’s like to die…” Minato smiles sadly. “I can’t stop thinking about it myself, so maybe talking about it will help.”

 

“You don’t need to force yourself to, you know that right?” Akihiko states, placing a hand on his shoulder. “We’d understand if you’re just trying to be nice, but think of yourself.”

 

“No, I think I need to do this.” Minato looks to everyone. “It was like time had slowed down...I was on the roof with Aigis when I started to get really tired. Almost the feeling that...you just ran a marathon but to the point that you can’t move...or speak.” 

 

Haru looks down as he speaks, hands on her heart in quiet refection.

 

“Then, I saw a blue butterfly fly past me. As if it was calling out to me. It didn’t speak but, I knew what it was saying. I found myself in...an almost star filled area with newly forming Persona. And a masked man...spoke to me.” 

 

“A masked man?” Yu tilts his head. “What did he say?”

 

“He congratulated me, on defending humanity from its own downfall. And...apologized for what had to be sacrificed in order for everyone to be safe.” Minato smiles sadly. “I couldn’t speak, but I was screaming...asking why I couldn’t have just stayed with you all...live the life I wanted to! I…”

 

Yukari goes close to Minato as he trembles, holding himself.

 

“Yu and Ren didn’t need to die just to save everyone! Yet I did! I...it’s just not fair…” He looks away, as if to hide the fact he’s crying. “Hearing the lives you both got to live after your Journeys...I just don’t get why I couldn’t have that! I wanted to live! Why.. _.why did any of this have to happen to me? _ ”

 

Haru goes to Minato’s other side. “Minato-san...I know it must be hard for you. And I question too...why my own father had to be killed.”

 

Akechi looks away, not speaking a word.

 

“But, you made good memories before you had to become that seal...correct?” Haru smiles.

 

“What good are memories when I can’t spend my next few years reminiscing on them with my friends?” Minato sighs.

 

Junpei sighs, holding up his hand. “Let’s get off the topic for now, yeah? Minato’s getting worked up and it might affect him in here.”

 

“...yeah you’re right Junpei.” Minato smiles, pain still clear in his expression.

 

Teal makes his retreat back to the forming tower, holding his injured side. Zagarus seems unamused as he glares at his servant from his seat. 

 

“Teal, your orders were clear: Stand by and observe. You were not to engage the Persona users in any form. Yet you defied that order…why?”

 

“I…” He goes silent. “Something...told me to. But I cannot say what.”

 

“I can sense the mental strain on you because of that battle. Release yourself, and find something to better assist us. If you think that your own choices are far greater than my orders, please prove it to me.” He snaps his fingers.

 

“As you wish…” Teal disconnects, wisps filling the virtual air as his digitized body vanishes. 

 

“...see to it that the rest  of you follow your orders. My mercy comes in many forms ...not all are painless.” 

 

Teal wakes up from the pod, looking around a dimly lit room where it is hard to make out his face. “...I must make up for my failure.” 

 

A TV in the next room over can be heard, which catches his attention. 

 

_ “Ever since his broadcast hack, Goro Akechi has been silent. Long thought to be missing, he admitted to be involved in the Shido scandals that took place within a three year timeframe. He seems to be currently in hiding, but due to the amount of lives taken by Akechi’s direct actions under Shido, he faces the potental of life in prioson or even the death penalty for terrosic actions. Anyone who has details on his whereabouts is urged to contact the police at once.” _

 

“His plan to expose us only seems to make him a target himself in the end. Perhaps this is my chance.”  Teal takes out a cell phone and dials 110. “Yes, I just saw a report on TV regarding Akechi-kun? I think I may have a lead on the terrorist's wearabouts…”

 

The Persona group’s pace begins to slow, as some begin to look tired, others leaning up against trees.

 

“That fight...took a lot outta us I think.” Kanji states, wiping his brow. “If I’m sweating in here, we’re probably all outta steam.”

 

“Perhaps we should stop our trek for the evening then.” Akechi states, hunched over a bit. “We should rest.”

 

_ “Mkay, we’ll pull you guys out now!”  _ Futaba states. 

 

All the pods open, and Rise hugs Yu and Yosuke tightly. “You two worried me so much when your heartbeats stopped suddenly!”

 

“They did?” Yu blinks. “Strange...but whatever happened back there it might not be easily repeated.”

 

“Yeah. Also...you’re kinda hugging us too tight!” Yosuke squeaks as he tires to get out of the Idol's embrace.

 

A brown haired young man is standing in the room with them. He looks around, as if studying the room. 

 

“Huh? Zen?” Yosuke blinks, getting out of Rise’s death grip. “You followed us out here?”

 

“I might as well. If I’m going to be of assistance I’d better stick with you all, right?” He looks down at his clothing which is comprised of just a simple black shirt and pants. “...I see my clothes didn’t get damaged. Rei will be happy.”

 

“Did she pick them out for you?” Yu smiles, dusting himself off.

 

“Indeed, but I’d honestly wear whatever makes her happy.”

 

“Aww! You two are so cute to-” But then everyone’s coms beep. 

 

_ “Guys! This is bad!”  _ Futaba states, panicked.  _ “There’s like, twenty cops at our Hotel. And they’re all looking for Akechi!” _

 

“Futaba, you have to be kiddin’!” Kanji yells. “We made sure to not write his name and not even include him in our payment! There’s no way in hell someone could know!”

 

_ “Techally there is.”  _ Fuuka chimes in.  _ “Do you recall ‘Teal’? He was human, just like us. And since we were linked up with our minds…” _

 

“He could have access to any information he needs thanks to potentially being at the Mother Computer.” Yu nods. “We’re going to need a change of location.”

 

_ “Uh, where though?”  _ Ryuji asks.  _ “We can’t get too far without one of us being recognized. And we don’t even have a safe place to go to.” _

 

_ “Well, there is the building Yu-sempai and I recently acquired for our whole group’s business.”  _ Naoto states.  

 

“But, we haven’t finished fixing the place up yet.” Yosuke mutters. “I guess that really doesn’t matter right now, though. It is an old building we’re fixing up, so it should be fine.”

 

_ “Send us the address and we’ll all head over!”  _ Minato states, as everyone starts to head out. 

 

As they weave through the streets and alleys, avoiding as many crowded places as they can, a feeling of dread consumes them all. 

 

Just who was Teal?

 

Stepping into their destination at last, the Persona group finds an old building that’s being slowly shifted into an office space. Parts of the building are still showing signs of age, and what little progress has been made to fix it up seems to be undoing itself.

 

“Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said this place was old…” Ryuji nods, looking around. 

 

“Are there any rooms we can use to rest in?” Haru asks, taking a seat in a chair nearby. 

 

“There should be, place has like what...three floors with a hell of a lotta room. Shit’s gonna be nightmare to remodel…” Kanji sighs. “But it was Yu-sempai’s idea…”

 

“Speaking of that...how did you even afford to buy this building?” Makoto asks, folding her arms. “Aren’t all of you just barely out of college?”

 

“It’s well…” Yu sighs, shaking his head. “Just comes down to my family, I guess…” 

 

“Wait, are you saying you’re rich or something?!” Mishima gaps, putting a hand over his mouth.

 

“No, I wouldn’t go that far. But I had connections that I took advantage of. Something I’ll probably never do again after this.” Yu’s tone sounds slightly cold. 

 

“Well uh, since we’re all here why don’t we all pitch in to help fix this place up?” Junpei offers, trying to change the topic. 

 

“I’m...unaware of what ‘Remodel’ means exactly..but I can do what I can to assist.” Zen offers a small smile.

 

“You guys don’t have to, you know...we’ve got it on our-” But Yosuke gets elbowed by Chie.

 

“We’d love the help! Plus it’ll give us a much less messy hideout.” 

 

“Remodeling a building...there is much beauty in that. I shall take this as my next greatest challenge!” Yusuke laughs, which worries his friends. 

 

Ryuji walks over to Envoy, who is off in a corner all by himself. “You gonna be okay, Envoy?”

 

“I...should be. Fixing up this building sounds fun.” He offers a small smile.

 

“Well I’m here if you need to talk.”

 

As the group begins to work on repairing the building, the events in Olympus play out in their minds. 

 

“Damn though, Yosuke got brainwashed, then we had that Teal guy show up...not a whole lot of positives there…” Kanji shakes his head as he starts to fix a desk. 

 

“Teal...it’s not a real Fetherman Color you know…” Yukari points out, holding a chair steady as Junpei fixes it. “Fanmade cosplays will use that color, but it’s never been added to the show itself.”

 

“So what you’re saying is...our new foe is an outlier.” Naoto nods, laying out tarp to get ready to paint the walls. 

 

“Mmmmyeep.” Futaba adjusts her glasses as she looks at her laptop. “I’d suggest he’s a fanboy of the show, but given his behavior I don’t think he was willingly scouted.”

 

“The way he spoke was much in the same manner as the NPCs in Olympus.” Mishima points out. “That’s why we assumed he was a program at first.”

 

“But if what Rise stated before was true, this is another human being, correct?” Zen asks, looking at a toolbox to figure out what he can do to help.

 

“Unfortunately so..” Labrys responds, shaking her head. “Which means he’s prolly in the central hub for the program. Back in that Mansion where the party was held.”

 

“Well why don’t we just go to that hub and trash the place?! Messing around in that program’s gonna take as long as playing an RPG, and we have no way in hell of knowing how long we have.” Ryuji suggests as he starts to paint a wall.

 

The group goes silent for a bit, before Yosuke speaks up.

 

“As much as I’d like to agree, we have to keep in mind we’re harboring basically a Terrorist within our ranks. Having us shift from our original plan will just land all of us in jail for life ...or worse.” 

 

“That actually reminds me.” Ren perks up. “Given how the Police are actively hunting us, it’ll be hard to actually head back to the Olympus nodes. If we’re going to stick to this plan, we’ll need another way to get to our locations undetected.” 

 

“We could always use the TV World as a tunnel system.” Chie suggests, hand in her pocket. “Although Envoy may have issues getting in…”

 

“He just needs to be let in by a Persona user right? It’s no big deal in that case.” Ryuji gives Chie a thumbs up. 

 

“In order to do that, however, we’d need to link several TVs together. That will take time and resources.” Mitsutu points out. “While it’s a solid plan, we need to keep those factors in mind. As another point, one of us will have to place all the TVs in the locations without getting captured.”

 

Morgana looks over at Teddie and smirks, moving some of his short black hair out of his face. “Teddie can always go. He’s from the TV world so he’d be the best bet.”

 

“Hahaha, no.” Yosuke shakes his head. “Ted may be from there, but he’s not stealthy enough. Sho hasn’t done much in this operation so we might just ask him to do it.”

 

“But the whole reason we didn’t bring him along was to keep him out of an environment that might bring back bad memories for him…” Fuuka states, placing her hands over her chest. “Would it really be okay to ask him to do this?”

 

“It all depends on his choice in the end.” Makoto looks to everyone. “Let’s come up with more plans before we contact him, shall we? Having just one is too risky.”

 

_ Niijima Residence _

 

“You saw that news report just now, right?” Sae looks up from her laptop and over at Sho, who’s scrolling on his cellphone.

 

“Yeah. Sounds like there’s a mole, or some other guy who knows about all of them. Tch, if they don’t do anything, all of them will be locked up. Then who will I have to fight?” 

 

“You seem to only truly care about fighting others, don’t you? Can you tell me why that is…?” Sae closes her laptop and turns to face him completely.

 

“Trying a different approach to get me to talk, huh? No wonder you were a prosecutor. Fine, but I’m not giving you the long version. Not yet at least.” He looks out the nearby window.

“You know Shuji Ikutsuki? The guy who was the chairman for Gekkoukan?” Sho shakes his head. “For as much as it could count for...that bastard was my father.”

 

“Adopted, I’d assume?”

 

“Yeah. Kirijo had a ball testing on young kids, trying to tap into the power of Persona to create soldiers. But the particular test I was subjected to, was different. I wasn’t allowed to make bonds and fought just about every day. Even had a Plume of Dusk implanted in me to try and get me to obtain my Persona faster.”

 

“Judging from what I’ve seen of you in combat, I’d assume it worked. But your tone tells a different story.”

 

“Yeah. The long and short of it, is that the plume grew its own separate personality. And he was the one with the Persona. I just knew how to fight. But after encountering Yu and the others...he left. And I got Tsukiyomi as my only memory left of him…”

 

“And as for the whole combat lust you have?” Sae cocks her head in question.

 

“It’s just a result of my upbringing...I guess. I only start to understand people after fighting them. But since most normal people don’t want to make friends by sparing, I don’t have a whole lot of non-persona user friends.” Sho shakes his head.

 

“Then, perhaps allow me to be the first.” Sae smirks, standing up.

 

“You’re joking right?” The red-head blinks in confusion.

 

“I’ve trained in Aikido, I may not be a match for someone who’s fought his whole life but..if you sparing someone allows you to understand them, then I won’t pass up a chance to allow you to form bonds.”

 

“Tch, hand to hand against swords seems a bit unfair if you’re not gonna pad up. I’ll match you by going weaponless. But just know, I don’t know how to hold back.” Sho smirks, cracking his neck as he stands.

 

Sae and Sho exchange strikes, with Sae struggling to keep pace. She makes a mental note of just how fast he is. 

 

“If that’s it then…” She does a low sweeping kick and manages to trip him before casually removing her heels. 

 

“Dirty trick, I like it..” Sho springs himself back up, kicking Sae in the process with both feet. 

 

“Ngh!” She skids a bit, but regains her composure. 

 

“Alright, this is starting to get fun.” Sho laughs before starting to rush her…

 

Only for Sae’s cellphone to ring.

 

“Agh! Seriously?! Right when I was starting to get into it too..” Sho sighs, sitting back down on the couch.

 

Sae answers her phone. “Nijima, what is it?”

 

_ “I looked into what you asked me...and I heard from some co-workers that there’s been more missing persons cases outside of Yasoinaba and Tokyo.”   _ Dojima’s voice states.

 

“More? You mean there’s missing people from Inaba _ again _ ?”

 

Sho folds his arms and sighs. “Put him on speaker, I’m not about to be left out of a conversation again.” 

 

Sae nods and does so. “You’re on speaker so Sho can join in as well.”

 

_ “Alright. Well the ones missing from Inaba were the same as back when those...shadows attacked. All former Yasogami High Students. Last known location was recorded from a security camera outside of one of the local restaurants.” _

 

“Mind sending that footage over here, Chief?” Sho asks. 

 

_ “Yeah, I’ll do that right now.” _

 

“And what about the people not from your area?” Sae asks, opening her laptop.

 

_ “They’re from two really random parts of the country. We don’t have full details yet, given I only got this info from word of mouth but...I at least know the towns they both come from.” _

 

“No info is bad info, so share what you have.”

 

_ “One is from Mikage-cho, and the other from Sumaru. Apparently one of the two abductees had a recording of the struggle, but no one I talked to shared the same exact story.” _

 

“You’re right...both locations do seem random..” Sae states, in deep thought. “Both of those areas are generally low profile, with nothing extremely major going on in either location since the late nineties. Could these abductions be unrelated to the Inaba kidnappings?”

 

_ “I wouldn’t want to rule anything out just yet. If this has any connection to that Olympus thing my Nephew and his friends are checking out, then we need to treat any possible useless bit of info as important.” _

 

“Those two cities...I’ve visited both of them…” Sho states, leaning forward. “While I was traveling Japan, I stopped by both of them and stayed longer because I noticed something about those locations.”

 

_ “You did? Do you mind elaborating on what exactly it was?” _

 

“It’s...how do I put it… when I’m here, or in Inaba or Tatsumi..there’s a particular air that those locations give off. But it’s not something a normal person would be able to pick up on...you’d need powers like mine to do it.”

 

“So you mean Persona, right?” Sae questions.

 

The red head nods. “I can’t really explain why I felt what I felt...or even what the hell it means but...those locations share something in common with the three I just mentioned.”

 

_ “It’s not much to go off of...but maybe this will help yield something…” _

 

_ The Unnamed Building _

 

The group has made fast progress at shaping up the first handful of rooms. Perhaps due to Agis and Labrys assisting where they can, along with the overall number. 

 

Zen sighs as he takes a seat on a now fixed chair. “A few things are still bothering me about what we witnessed…”

 

“Like what?” Yosuke asks, dusting sawdust off his pants.

 

“The area within that machine works and feels like any other place connected to the Sea of Souls. If it’s like how you say, and this is used to breed more Persona-users, then there must be a reason for it being built beyond just one human’s greed..” 

 

“He has a point.” Minato states, sighing. “While I wasn’t fully aware of myself as the Seal, I know enough about the Sea to think there could be more to this…”

 

“But it’s only conjecture right now.” Yu points out. “I don’t want us to get distracted. Teddie, do you think our TV plan will work?”

 

“It should!” The blond boy states. “But who will we ask to get the TVs? We’d need multiple pairs.” 

 

“Well we mentioned Sho before right?” Kanji reminds the group. “Why don’t we call him and see.”

 

The room goes silent.

 

“Wait...don’t tell me..DO NONE OF YOU HAVE HIS PHONE NUMBER?!”

 

Suddenly, Yu’s cell rings. “Ah, speak of the devil.” 

 

Yu puts it on speaker. “Hey, we can all hear you.”

 

_ “Really? Alright, I’ll make this quick. Your Uncle just hit us with something big in terms of leads. Apparently there’s a bunch of missing people...three from Inaba and two from cites far from here.” _

 

“Anything more then that?” Yosuke asks, curious. 

 

_ “Yeah. The two cities those abductees were from are Mikage-cho and Sumaru.” _

 

“Mikage-cho...the current head of the Nanjo Group is from there. As for Sumaru...I know of nothing significant to it.” Mitsuru nods.

 

_ “Then get this. I’ve been to those locals before...and I’ve felt the same vibes as locations you all are from. That means…” _

 

“There might be Persona users there.” Yu looks to everyone. “So the two people taken might either already have a Persona or hold the potential to…”

 

“But if it was only Potential, then how would the person taking them know?” Zen folds his arms.

 

_ “The hell’s this new voice? You guys pick up another person to replace me or something?” _

 

“That was Zen. He claims to know Yu and Minato’s parties but we’re not totally sure if it’s the case. But he seems at least trustworthy.” Ren states. 

 

_ “ _ _ Ooookay...moving on. To anwer ‘Zen’s question, if the person kidnapping those two is the same as the one who took the three Inaba people, then it wouldn’t be hard.”  _

 

He sends the group a video file from Dojima, which Ryuji presses play on. They see Kou’s confession attempt play out, and Minato attacking the group. Afterward...a metallic figure appears. Ryuji pauses it there and zooms in.

 

_ “That metallic body and human face. Remind you all of anyone in that room?” _

 

“It’s like Labrys and Aigis…” Junpei leans closer to the screen. “Wait doesn’t this mean this is our Anti-Shadow weapon we’ve been hunting?”

 

_ “Seems so. Unless I’m mistaken, Weapons can identify Arcana affinity.  If it’s a Major Arcana, they tend to yeld Persona. Am I right, Prez?” _

 

“Yeah. In truth all people can hava chance at getten Persona if put in the right environment. But some potential shines brighta then others.” 

 

_ “Did any of you run into other humans in Olympus?” _

 

“We did, actually. A Young man in a Teal Featherman suit. He was able to use a Persona with scary accuracy.”

 

_ “I see. The next time you run into him, or any potential others, try to question them. I’m gonna head to Subaru and investigate who was taken from there. Their name might help our case as a whole...right?” _

 

“But what about Sae-san? Wasn’t your whole reason for staying with her is so she has protection?” Akechi asks.

 

_ “That was the excuse you gave me to not come along. Sitting around isn’t really my thing anyhow and that Sae chick can hold her own. Plus, I know my way around both cities so I’m really the only one who can easily investigate.” _

 

“Good plan. We can’t really leave Tokyo right now anyhow…” Yukari sighs, shaking her head.

 

“Make sure you keep us updated on what happens, okay?” Yu asks.

 

_ “Of course. Call Sae if you need updates on her investigation. I better get on the road.” _

 

Sho hangs up,  leaving the group to mull over this new information. Yosuke lets out a sigh before glancing over at Chie. “You were the last of us to see Kou , right? You were on the tape.”

 

“Yeah. But when Minato-san, or who we assumed to be him, attacked me and the three of them managed to pin him down, I went to go get you and Teddie...only for all of them to be gone.”

 

“They obviously got ahold of me somehow, as it was my body that attacked. But unlike in Yosuke’s instance, we hadn’t entered Olympus yet so the bug or Persona spell would be harder to do or put on.” Minato points out.

 

“Unless something at the Party we raided caused it…” Mishima looks at everyone. “In fact...haven’t you noticed how everything we’ve been doing, and the way we’ve been doing it has allowed our target more chances? Yosuke was messed with, the device we’re trying to shut down has the potential to kill us for real if we die in the space, and we’re being forced to fight other Persona users…”

 

“And I was stopped by who I’d assume to be Zagerus back at the party, yet he made no solid moves to really take the data I found back…” Ren taps his fingers on his arms.

 

“So what you’re saying is, our whole mission right now is one giant trap to eliminate us all?” Mitsuru sighs, shaking her had. “If that were the case, then I’d normally advise ceasing this plan. But we have no other options. Trap or not, this device is dangerous to ignore.”

 

“Then lets focus our efforts on trying to free those Persona users.” Yu looks to everyone. “Our next encounter with Teal, let’s try to unmask him.”

 

“And I’m gonna be under the assumption that his buddies are also decked out in the same Featherman suits. Should be easy to see them.” Futaba states, adjusting her glasses. “Mkay, our new goal is to free the Persona users, get them to our side and kick ass in Olympus!”

 

“Is this choice unanimous?” Ren looks around and sees everyone in the room nod. “Then it is so.”

 

“Mkay, out of all of us who can safely gather the TVs...Zen’s the only one they didn’t see.” Yosuke looks to him. “But judging how you act...you’re not used to being in a city. So we need someone who’d be able to get through the city with zero risks.”

 

“I’m technically dead to the general policeman.” Minato states, raising his hand a bit. “I’ll go.”

 

“Alright, Zen and Minato-san can go get the TVs. Set them all up in the node areas and take as complex of a route as you can when returning here.” 

 

They head out, which puts the group back in silence. 

 

“Hey, I just realized something. The Thieves and Ken-kun are still going to school. How are we gonna get by the schools searching for them?” Junpei asks. 

 

“I’ve already taken care of that, Iori. In Ken’s case it’s simple given his high school is of course Gekkoukan , but as for Kosei, Shujin and Yasogami, all three schools are under the assumption our Thief friends have been chosen for a special tour of all the Kirijo facilities and first hand experience within those fields.” Mitsuru explains.

 

“Wow, talk about using your money for good..” Futaba gasps, completely impressed.

 

“We should probably get some rest.” Akihiko states. “Overstraining our minds before going back into that device might not bode well for our combat performance.”

 

“Are there beds here?” Haru asks Rise.

 

“There should be. It was the first thing I suggested they put in so we could stay on site while working on the place.”

 

“There’s several rooms, enough for three to a person at the very least.” Yosuke explains. “Doesn’t matter who you pair up with since the TV rooms will be on this ground floor. Ted, stay up long enough to set up the gateways.”

 

“Right! You can count on me Yosuke!”

 

Agis walks to a chair near a window and sits down. Labrys can tell at a glance that she’s not going to rest until Minato is back safely.

 

“...Aigis and I will babysit Teddie. You all go sleep.” She states, placing a hand on her younger sister’s shoulder.

 

Everyone states their goodnights and breaks off into groups of three. 

 

Ryuji finds himself in a room with Junpei and Yosuke. Digging through his bag he pulls out sleepwear and starts to change.

 

“Hold on Ryuji-kun…” Junpei states, taking a look at his leg that has a very notices a large scar right where the femur would be.

 

“Dude..are you even able to walk right with that?” Yosuke asks, but Ryuji doesn’t even look up.

 

“...it was that teacher you mentioned to us while hung out, right?” Junpei is being as quiet as he can now.

 

“Yeah...I tend to try to cover the scar up so people don’t start pitying me. After everything I’ve been through, the last thing I want is someone to feel sorry for me.” Ryuji changes pants, once again covering up the scar.

 

“Does that even mean your friends?” Youske sits down casually on one of the three beds in the room.

 

“...yeah. They know about the injury, but I’d rather not let them see the scar. I went into a bathhouse with Ren and Yusuke a bit after the later joined our group, and even then I went ahead of them and got into the water before they did and left when the steam got too much.”

 

“I’ve hidden a lot of things from my friends as well..so I get it.” Youske nods in solidarity. “But, I know it can’t last. I’ll have to fess up at some point.”

 

“So?” Junpei jokingly leans forward. “What’s it you’re hiding, Yosuke?”

 

“Well it’s my crush on-HEY!” 

 

“You’re among trustworthy ears, man.” Ryuji lies down on his bed. “We won’t blab to your teammates.” 

 

“It’s not about trustworthiness...it’s about knowing if it’s even gonna happen…” Yosuke sighs. “But since I did say it wasn’t about trust, I have to say it now, don’t I?”

 

“I mean, we might be able to help you out so might as well.” Junpei winks and gives him a thumbs up.

 

“Alright...it’s Yu okay?! Back during our last mission, in the castle when he came for me...I told him and…he didn’t give me an exact response. Still hasn’t, obviously…”

 

“Huh.” Ryuji nods slowly, pointer finger and thub on his chin as he sits criss crossed on his bed. “So you go that way, huh? Eh, regardless..I think you’ll be fine. We’re right in the middle of a huge operation, so I’m sure Yu’s just waitn for the right time to give you that answer.”

 

“What Ryuji said. No matter the sex, sometimes the other party just needs time to go over their own feelings. You shouldn’t rush these things, man.”

 

“Thanks you guys. You know...it feels a bit better to actually talk about this with people. But...neither of you are seriously bothered by it?” 

 

Ryuji laughs. “Dude, I spent a whole year push back against shit in Society through rebellion, if I started judging other people I’d be a...what’s the word? Hype-o-crite?”

 

“And with all the weird shit all three of us have seen from just being Persona users, something as small as this shouldn’t be that big of a deal by comparison.” Junpei stretches.

 

“I guess...you both have a point.” Yosuke laughs. “But seriously, don’t tell the others though. It’s better if I do.”

 

The duo nod and Yosuke finally lies down. “Well, let’s go ahead and sleep. We have to resume the mission in the morning.”

 

As everyone starts to dose off, Envoy walks down the steps to meet up with Aigis and Labrys, who are both waiting for Minato and Zen to return. 

 

“Ey, was wondern if you’d show up.” Labrys states, smiling. “Everything alright, Envoy?”

 

“I keep getting this feeling in my chest, like I should truly know you both.” Envoy sighs, fidgeting a bit. “But you two are machines...and I’m…”

 

“You are one as well...I’d assume at least.” Aigis states bluntly. “Scanning you shows you have less in common with our friends. But, if you are exactly like us is currently unknown.”

 

“So my guess was right then…” He sighs, shaking his head. “Ryuji-san’s been the one watching over me this whole time. But would he still do so if he knew the full details of what I am?”

 

“I wondered that as well…” Aigis looks out the window and offers a smile as she sees Minato off in the distance. “Allow me...to tell you a fairy tale…”

 

Envoy sits down and pays close attention.

 

“There was a girl, who harbored a great sin. In a mission to save humans...she sealed away a great evil inside of a child. And she was then hunted down. Several years later, fate brought the girl and the child together...with neither knowing of the other’s hidden past.” She places a metallic hand on the window sill.

 

“The boy became important to the girl...and when she at first thought she could not be loved...he extended his hand, and quelled her fear.” A faint smile grows on her face.

 

“But that boy...had to listen to fate. At the time when humanity was once again threatened...the boy sacrificed himself for the greater good. And the girl was once again...alone.” 

 

Envoy looks saddened by the tale. “What happened to the girl then?”

 

“She locked her spirit away, and desired to no longer live as the boy had shown her. What point was there, if he was not there to bear witness? This desire for his return, caused another crisis to begin. And the girl, with the friends the boy had helped her make, had to make a choice. Save their friend, or live with his memory in their hearts.”

 

“And the choice they made?” Envoy tilts his head.

 

“They chose the latter. As the girl had realized that, while he may be gone, it was because of him that she had met these wonderful people, and desired to keep strengthening the bonds with them...as he did with her.” 

 

“That’s a great story...but what does this mean for me?”

 

“You are never an outcast as long as you have companions. This story may be a fairy tale, but it’s lesson should ring true. Your bonds that you make are as real as the feelings in your heart.” Aigis smiles. 

 

Minato steps through the door. “Keep telling stories like that, and you’ll turn into Elizabeth~”

 

“Shall I call upon a Megalodon to you then?” She quips back, which causes Minato to laugh.

 

“We managed to successfully bring in several TVs. But we will need assistance bringing them all to the rooms.” Zen states, trying to keep them focused.

 

“Between all of us, we should be able to set them all up. Work quietly though, I think everyone’s asleep right now.” Labrys states.

 

As they start unloading the car, Envoy looks up at the star filled sky with a bright smile. “The bonds you make...are as real as the feelings in your heart…”

  
  



	6. Two Minds, One Dream

Sho sits in a train, Katana both sheathed over his back just in case. The ride was going to be long. He would have much rather borrowed Sae’s motorcycle, but no matter how much he asked she wouldn’t allow him to use it.

 

“I need to actually talk to locals...huh..” He sighs, shaking his head. “At the end of all this, I better get to join the fray finally.”

 

Checking his phone, Sho sees social media abuzz with talks about Akechi’s inevitable capture. “Made quite the stir...that’s what they hoped but…” He shakes his head. “Maybe if he left the confession part out, it would have worked…”

 

_ Olympus _

 

Now hooked back up to the device, the Party sets out on foot in search of the next .exe file. But the going is slow, as they all have to keep a cerian formation to make sure no one is left behind.

 

Yosuke lets out a tired sigh, folding his arms behind his head. “You know, in that Legend of...whatever, the protagonist always had a horse. Why can’t we just get horses? It’d be a lot faster then traveling  _ a whole continent _ on foot.”

 

_ “Actually not every game in the series had  _ _ Areion. Just Flute of Souls, Kujo’s Mask, Dusk Queen, Skybound Blade-...wait that was a bird.” Futaba laughs. _

 

“You know what I meant!” Yosuke rolls his eyes. “What I mean is we need transportation. And fast.”

 

_ “Well if we’re going by game rules, we’d need to either purchase a horse or catch a wild one.”  _ Futaba explains.  _ “Lemmie see if there’s any horses near by.” _

 

“Horses, hm? I’ve never ridden one before…” Yusuke nods, smiling. “Even if this is just a virtual space, the experience will probably be wonderful.”

 

“I did once back in America!” Ann smiles pumping her fist. “I was really little though so I guess it wasn’t legit riding.”

 

“How would we fight on horseback though? Those of us who don’t have outright weapons will be at a disadvantage.” Akihiko points out, arms folded.

 

“You could just run over the shadows with the horse itself. I do that a lot when I’m in a hurry in Dusk Queen.” Ryuji shurgs.

 

“But, doesn’t that hurt the horse?” Haru gasps.

 

“It’s not real, Haru.” Makoto sighs, shaking her head. “But maybe we can leave the combat on horseback to those who actually can?”

 

_ “Found a heard! There’s just enough to get one each!”  _ Futaba sounds excited.  _ “They’re just south of your current path.” _

 

“Alright...let’s see who’s the fastest at catching a horse!” Akihiko bumps his fists together.

 

_ “I’d advise going one at a time. If you all try to do it at the same time, you might just make the process take longer. We’ll handle the timer over here.”  _ Rise giggles.

 

“Then let’s let our leaders have a go first.” Yosuke smirks.

 

“Well if that’s the case...Yu why don’t you go first?” Ren looks right at his older compaion who shrugs.

 

“Alright.”

 

Yu begins to sneak up to a white and blond horse, as the others watch on from a safe distance. 

 

“Does Yu even know what he’s doing?” Yukari asks, worried. 

 

“I doubt it.” Minato shrugs, laughing a bit. “But he might do it nonetheless.”

 

_ “Keep a slow pace, you don’t want to spook it.”  _ Fuuka says in an almost wisper.

 

Yu hides behind one of the few trees in the area, observing his horse of choice eating some grass only a few feet from him. A wind blows, moving his pure white coat tails like they were flags. 

 

“Alright...let’s give this a try.” Approaching the beast slowly once again, he gets right up to it and jumps on instantly, the horse bucking wildly to get the young man off it’s back.

 

He clings to dear life as the horse starts to sprint, Ren can’t help but laugh as this city boy tries to tame this wild horse. 

 

“He’s gonna fall if he’s not careful!” Haru gasps. “This is nerve wrecking.”

 

Yu starts to attempt to soothe the horse, petting it as it continues to try to buck him off. And slowly but surely, the flailing begins to slow down until the horse is completely under his control. 

 

_ “And time! Yu’s time was...ten minutes on the dot.”  _ Futaba can be heard clapping.  _ “Pretty good for someone who’s never done this before.”  _

 

“I figured calming her down was the best bet. Guess I was right.” Yu laughs, continuing to pet his horse.

 

“Alright, who’s next?” Akihiko asks, looking between the two leaders. “One of you has to go next.”

 

“Well since Ren sounded so confident in his abilities, why don’t you go?” Minato gives a teasing smile to the younger user.

 

“I might as well.” He stretches. “Watch and learn. There’s more than one way to get a wild horse.”

 

Going up to a nearby cliff, the Phantom Thief looks over at a black and grey horse nearby. “Perfect. Now...if I recall correctly.” Taping on a small device on his arm. “Yeah, our classes come with tools. And mine just so happens to have a glider.” 

 

Getting a running start, Joker leaps into the air and soars right above his target. “Gotcha!” He lets go of his flight device and plumets right onto the horse before grabbing onto it as tight as possible. “Ha! Perfect!” 

 

“That was certainly a spectile for sure. All that’s left is to see if he can tame it.” Mitsuru puts a hand on her cheek. 

 

The horse’s attempts at bucking the frizzy teen start to subside, until it’s as calm as it was before having a human on his back.

 

_ “Time! Four minutes for Ren!”  _ Rise cheers.  _ “His method was kinda odd, but it shaved minutes off of Senpai’s time.” _

 

“See Narukami? You have to be more creative with how you do these things~” 

 

Minato shrugs looking at his fellow wild cards. “I guess it’s my turn then?” 

 

Instead of even going to where the horses are, Minato begins to climb a tree filled with apples and picks one. Jumping down, he starts to calmly approach a nearby grey horse while holding out the freshly picked fruit.

 

It begins to sniff the food, followed by him. Minato stays perfectly calm during this whole process until the horse decides to take a bite out of the offering. 

 

“There, have as much as you want.” He holds as still as possible until the horse finishes the apple. Then he slowly reaches a hand out and pets it’s nose calmly. “Do you mind helping me out? There’s more of this in it for you if you do.”

 

Minato begins to slowly climb the horse, with no real objections from it. 

 

“Did he really use food to tame a horse?” Ryuji blinks. 

 

“There...all safe and healthy right? Let’s see the others, shall we?” He gives it a gentle nudge before it starts moving. 

 

_ “That would be time. Minato-kun took five minutes, but that’s mostly due to the slow eating of the horse.”  _ Fuuka sounds happy.

 

“I didn’t want to risk hurting the animal. Game or not, I just can’t bring myself to injure any sort of animal period.”

 

A happy bark from Koromaru is heard from the coms, which causes Minato to smile.

 

“Well we’ve seen three different methods that have all worked. Now..the rest of us have to get ours. ...god help us all.” Yosuke sounds defeated already.

 

Each Persona user attempts their own variations of each Wild Card’s horse taming tricks with varying degrees of success. 

 

Yosuke starts to sneak up on a brown horse much like Yu did, but due to lack of coverage in that portion of the field...he’s risking spooking any nearby horse. 

 

_ “Yosuke-kun, ya might want to watch out. You’re about to be bu-”  _

 

A nearby horse steps on Yosuke’s long scarf and bucks him hard, causing him to fall over. “Agh! Damnit! I was so close too!”

 

“Keep trying Yosuke, don’t quit after your first failure!” Yu cheers. 

 

“Right.” Getting up he attempts again and succeeds, if only barely. 

 

Chie tries to mimic a bit of both Ren and Minato, getting up in a tree and waiting for a horse to approach it. 

 

“It’s not nearly as high as that cliff, so the horse won’t be hurt...right?” 

 

A silver horse walks right under her tree and she gives a wide grin. “Come to me!” 

 

She jumps down, and manages to land on the horse’s back. It starts to try to buck her but Chie hangs on to dear life with her legs.

 

But not her arms, as she soon finds herself upside down on the horse. “WHAT THE HECK?! How did Yosuke do this?!”

 

Yosuke can’t help but laugh. “See! This is how it feels!”

 

After a bit of a struggle, she manages to get herself upright on the horse and calm it down. “Sorry about that...but hopefully we can become friends now?”

 

After a few more people go, it’s Zen’s turn up at bat. 

 

“All I have to do is calm the horse to ride it...correct?” He asks, looking over at what horses remain. “Very well.”

 

He walks calmly up to a black horse with a blond mane and studies it for a bit. “...”

 

“Is he...nervous?” Mishima asks, tilting his head.

 

“Well Akihiko and Junpei both got bucked off of their horses...four times each. I wouldn’t blame him for being nervous.”

 

He holds out a hand, and still says nothing. The horse begins to sniff his hand, before snorting in almost an approval. Zen gets onto it after that.

 

“What did he do?” Yosuke blinks. “He didn’t feed it or anything! It just let him on!”

 

Zen rides up to the group and presents a charm to them. “I found this as I approached the horse. It’s a clear sign that this horse was waiting for a master that would never return, so I presented this to it and was allowed to ride it as a result.”

 

_ “Zen wins. He didn’t even need to tame this one.”  _ Futaba sighs.

 

“So much for a competition then…” Junpei lowers his head. 

 

“That just leaves Mishima right?” Ryuji asks, calming his horse as he speaks.

 

“Yeah.” Mishima gulps. “Wish me luck, because I don’t think I can pull off what everyone else did.”

 

_ “You got this, Mishima!”  _ Labrys cheers.

 

Mishima approaches the only horse left on the field and gets on. But unlike the other horses, it just starts charging wildly as it tries to get him off.

 

“Dude, this isn’t safe!” Ryuji panics. “Should we try to help?!”

 

“Yes. Let’s block the horse’s path to the nearby river!” Yu orders. “Go!”

 

Everyone begins to give chase as Mishima tries his hardest to calm his soon to be steed. “Come on...I don’t want to hurt you.”   
  


He looks as closely as he can at his horse and notices a scar on it’s neck. “Your owner abused you...didn’t they?” He starts to pet over where the scar is, and the horse slows it’s charge down some.

 

“Mishima whatever you’re doing, keep it up!” Akihiko shouts as he goes ahead of him. 

 

“R-Right!” He keeps petting the horse until it comes to a full stop before rising up into the air on it’s hind legs and letting out a whinny.

 

_ “Whoa…”  _ Futaba marvels. 

 

“I told you, Futaba. He’s not an NPC, he’s a protagonist.”

 

_ Train to Sumaru _

 

It’s already become dark, and Sho was becoming impatient. Should he had been allowed Sae’s bike he could have already obtained intel in both cities. But no, she had to be hard on him.

 

“Tch, who does she think she is anyhow? My mom?” He shakes his head. “Still about ten more minutes before I arrive...great.” Sho slumps down in his seat a bit, causing his katana to klink together, which echos in the mostly quiet train car.

 

The train stops at a stop to pick up more passengers, and no one seems to board at first. This annoys Sho, until he sees a girl step onto the platform. Dressed in a school uniform with a white cap, she looks around the car and decides to sit in the seat directly across from Sho. 

 

“Of all of the seats...hope this girl isn’t the chatty type…” 

 

She seems to be looking him over, up and down with increasing curiosity as a smile faintly grows. “I love your cosplay! Are you going to the Film Con in Subaru?” 

 

“Cos..what? And no I’m not actually. I have...business to take care of there. ...I guess.”

 

“Ah, I see. I was planning on going to the con myself, but I couldn’t afford tickets so I’ve been coming after school each day to film people coming out in cosplay. If they’ll let me, of course.” She casually swings her legs as she speaks, clearly happy about the subject being talked about.

 

“Fascinating…” Sho rolls his eyes as he looks out the window behind him.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking...would your…’business’ have to do with Officier Suou’s kidnapping?” She asks, now slightly more serious.

 

“Kidnapping...what do mean?” Sho leans forward, curious.

 

“Well, like I said before, I had been filming people at the Film Con, and he was one of the officers providing security for it. All of a sudden though...this strange man came and took him. I got it all on film, but no one thinks it’s real due to the amount of cosplay…”

 

“Were you able to see where he was taken?” Sho looks around as he speaks.

 

“No...the movement was too fast for me to keep up.”

 

_ “We will be arriving in Sumaru City shortly.” _

 

“I was actually going to go back to the con to interview people who might have seen his abduction. If you’re going to be looking into it too, why not come with me?” The girl smiles brightly. “Mysteries are always best solved in teams right?”

 

“Well you have video footage. Even if we get jack, I’m sure my buddies might be able to use that footage. So yeah, I’ll come with you...uh..”

 

“Hikari, sir.” She bows politely.

 

“Sho.” He shrugs.

 

_ Olympus _

 

“Alright, so we have the horses but...don’t we need saddles?” Mishima pets his horse some more as he speaks.

 

“That’s a good point, we won’t be able to properly control our new companions without that.” Yukiko smiles as she strokes her horse.

 

“Well, we can always go to a nearby store.” Minato suggests. “If this is like most RPGs I’ve played, we should be able to buy saddles now that we have horses.”

 

“Wait do we even have money? We can’t exactly open up our wallets with our minds…” Akihiko sighs.

 

“We have apples.” Ren shrugs.

 

“Apples...and just what, tell me, are you going to do with them?” Yukari shakes her head.

 

“Sell them. You can sell things wherever in an RPG.” Minato states

 

“Welp, let’s hope we get enough gold then!” Junpei sighs as he follows everyone else.

 

_ “There should be a town up ahead. No sign of Teal yet, so you’re good to get a bit sidetracked.”  _ Futaba can be heard sitting back in a chair.

 

_ “Futaba-chan, please don’t slack off.”  _ Envoy states in a serious tone.  _ “We need to keep focus at all times.” _

 

_ “Chill, man. My legs just got sore from standing. I brought a chair from the place just for this.”  _

 

The group makes their way into town and finds a store selling their wares outside. Minato hops down from his steed and walks to the clerk.

 

“Excuse me, but I was wondering if I could sell my apples to you. We picked more than we can carry and we’re low on funds.” He admits.

 

“Oh? Well I’d be happy to take anything off your hands, good sir.” The clerk replies, a bit of a british accent in his voice.

 

Minato begins pulling apples from seemingly nowhere until there’s about eighty on the table.

 

“How..the hell did he carry all of tho- you know what? No, I’m not gonna question it. Everytime I do, I regret it!” Yosuke shakes his head repeatedly. 

 

“Let’s see...eighty apples would get you...hmm 4000 gold in total. Sound good?”

 

“And just for curiosity sake, how much would we need to spend to get saddles for our whole team of horses?” Minato cocks his head.

 

“Way more then I’m giving you, lad, that’s for sure. Them’s expensive those saddles. My family works hard to make them.” 

 

Minato sighs, realizing his plan isn’t working so far. “Well, we all happen to be the uh..heroes?” He flashes his pure white sword, as the others do the same with their weapons.

 

“Oh? So you need the money for your quest then? I can bump it up to 10000 gold then.” The clerk smiles.

 

“And would  _ that _ be enough for saddles for all of us?” Minato crosses his arms.

 

“Gods no! These things are pricey, boy. Hero or not I still gotta make a living.”

 

Ryuji growls a bit, tired of waiting. “Look dude, we need these to save the ‘effing world. Can’t you like give us a hero’s discount?”

 

“I’m not too fond of your tone, so my answer is no.”

 

“Then perhaps we can work for the saddles? We all have the skills to assist.” Mitsuru tries.

 

“Hell no! I got enough work selling shit of Junes and I am  _ not _ gonna be working with freaking leather in a digital world.” Yosuke objects.

 

“You saying my work isn’t important, then, sir?”

 

“Um! He certainly didn’t mean it like that, he’s just not to keen on selling things.” Makoto tries her best to diffuse the situation.

 

“Leather work can be seen as an art form, yes? I can understand the pride this man takes in his work. But much like how I would want my art to give people hope, wouldn’t you want yours to help save lives?” Yusuke moves some hair out of his face.

 

“Refusing to aid us will only hurt your family in the end. Those demon lords have started to go on the move, and it might be hard for us to fight them off if they reach this town.” Mishima adds. 

 

“Perhaps you both are right…”

 

“Geez, this guy’s whole quirk is about his family’s well being huh? It’s kinda touching actually.” Yukari smiles.

 

“But even if I do this, I won’t be able to feed my family for a while. The amount of money I’d get from you all would do us for far longer than the war.”

 

“But we do not have the gold...this is why we are trying to sell you the apples…” Haru sighs.

 

“Well as I keep saying, the apples only get you so much.”

 

“It’s food right? Your family won’t starve if you have apples. So I don’t see the issue.” Akihiko tries.

 

“We can’t live off of just apples.”

 

“Just like we can’t live off of just protein…” Junpei mutters under his breath.

 

“We can advertise your storefront in the next town we visit! That should bring in a lot of profit!” Ann does a little fist pump. 

 

“But how long will it take travelers to get here? The next town is two days away.”

 

_ “This bargaining seems to be going nowhere. Shall we try to hack the clerk to let him give you the money needed?” _ Aigis asks.

 

“We got this.” Ren smirks. “I’ll do just about anything you desire in exchange for the saddles.” 

 

“Really? Well that’s a relief.” The clerk sighs.

 

“Whoa did he actually do it?” Mishima whispers.

 

“So, what do you wish?” Ren sits casually atop his horse.

 

“For you to never return here!!” The clerk draws a knife and starts to charge Ren.

 

“Not happening!” Akihiko jumps down from his horse and nails the man in the head, knocking him clean out.

 

“This...was a disaster…” Minato sighs. “Just...loot the store of everything we can get and grab saddles...I guess.”

 

_ “Aww it’s over already? I just opened my popcorn!”  _ Rise sounds like she’s pouting.

 

“Wait you weren’t even worried that we could have died?!” Teddie excailms. 

 

_ “I checked him before you all started to haggle. He posed no threats whatsoever. Could have just killed him for the stuff if you wanted.”  _

 

“Oh so  _ now _ she tells us.” Kanji rolls his eyes. “Some Navigators you all are.”

 

“What matters is that we are properly stocked on supplies. We need to press onward if we wish to encounter Teal again.” Zen finishes putting his saddle on his horse and gets on. 

 

“Right. Let’s keep going.” Yu leads the group out of the town, as the Townsfolk cheer them on despite their theft. 

 

_ Sumaru City Station _

 

Sho and Hikari leave the train as the red head pulls out his phone and texts Sae. “Hopefully, we can make it through this with no distractions…”

 

Hikari tries to take a peek at his phone, her curiosity at its peak. “So you said you were investigating the abduction, right? How come? You don’t look like you’re from this part of Japan.”

 

“I’m not. I’m from ...Tatsumi...I guess.” He shrugs.

 

“Oh! Does that mean you went to the school that’s owned by Kirijo? Because there’s this new director who’s been making headlines and he’s from there and..” Her words start to become a blur to Sho as he begins to tune her ramblings out.

 

“Can we stay on topic, please?” He finally says, clearly annoyed.

 

“S-Sorry. I just tend to get excited at times…” 

 

He shakes his head. “It’s...whatever. I’m doing this investigation because some...people I know are in some deep shit right now. We don’t know the full scope, but there’ve been several missing persons cases happening within the past few days. And we think they might be connected to the main issue.”

 

“And what is this issue?” She asks, adjusting her hat so she can look up at him better.

 

Sho studies her for a bit. He can’t sense any sort of energy off of her, meaning she’s not a Persona user. The unspoken rule of thumb has always been to never reveal that world to outsiders unless necessary. And so far, this girl hasn’t shown any real need to know. 

 

“It’s classified information.” He finally says.

 

“Oh… Well that’s okay! I’ll be glad to help no matter what. The con’s this way, follow me! They should be opening the doors in about an hour or so.” 

 

Sho finds himself being dragged along by Hikari as they weave through the station and out onto the road. If people didn’t know any better, they’d assume the duo were Brother and Sister.

 

“You’re walking too slow, Sho!” Hikari laughs.

 

“Well quit tugging on me!”

 

Sho starts looking around his surroundings as he begins to feel the same feeling he always does when in these sorts of areas.

 

“One...two...three..four...five. Five users are in this city. I’m gonna need to find them while I’m here. It might take some convincing, but if comes down to it...I’ll fight them.”

Hikari looks up at the red head. “What are you mumbling about? We’re almost there!”

 

Sho suddenly hopes at least one user is at the con, because he could really use an excuse to fight right now…

 

_ Leblanc _

 

Sojiro is cleaning a coffee cup that has just recently been left behind as he watches the news closely.

 

_ “After a raid on Hotel de Mau, there were confirmations that Goro Akechi had aide in his escape. Police are requesting all people in Shinjuku to be wary of their surroundings until he’s caught.” _

 

“As much as I don’t approve in helping the kid responsible for Wakaba’s death, the guy’s a major intel pool…” Sojiro closes his eyes and shakes his head. “But that weapon they’re going up against. Isn’t that why that doctor built that...thing? He mentioned it’d be handy but…”

 

The bell on the door rings, breaking Sojiro’s train of thought. “Welcome, how can I help...you?”

 

Taking a glance over at his new customer, he sees a man in a biker outfit. But he recognizes him without too much trouble. 

 

“Aren’t you-”

 

“Kei Nanjo? You’d be correct. I had heard from a reliable source that this was the base of operations for the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. I’m in need of their intel gathering skills, as a good friend of mine has gone missing.”

 

“...your source would be incorrect then. This is just a coffee shop. If you don’t plan to buy then-” Sojiro wasn’t sure if he could trust this guy. Rich or not, he might not be acting with good intent.

 

“So you’re claiming Mitsuru-chan gave me wrong information then?”

 

“You know her?” Sojiro tilts her head.

 

“We are business partners after all.”

 

“I see. Well...if it’s the Phantom Thieves you want, then I’m afraid they’re unavailable at the moment. They’re a bit tied up at the moment.”

 

“Does this connect to that broadcast everyone’s been talking about?” Kei takes a seat at the bar, arms folded on the table.

 

“It might, it might not.” He adjusts his glasses.

 

“You still don’t fully trust me then? Very well, I can accept that.” 

 

“This...friend of yours. Do they have a name?” Sojiro sets down his now clean cup.

 

“Yes. Naoya Toudou. We’ve been close friends for a long time, and we were all supposed to all meet up for a week to catch up but...then during a phone call he suddenly got attacked and never checked into the hotel…”

 

“Do you know where he was at the time of the call?” Sojiro asks, not making eye contact as he cleans another cup.

 

“I believe in the call he said he had just left Big Bang Burger…” 

 

“...Shibuya.”

 

“Well if the Phantom Thieves are currently absent from here, can I at least ask that you relay my request to them?” Kei stands up.

 

“Maybe..” Sojiro goes back to watching the TV.

 

“That’s good enough for me..” Kei leaves the store as the bell jingles once again.

 

Sojiro shakes his head tiredly. “He’s looking for a friend huh? I’m not too keen on what’s going on but...I should at least message Futaba about this.” 

 

He takes out his phone and calls her.

 

“Hopefully things get better…”

  
  


_ Olympus _

 

**“THINGS ARE SO NOT BETTER!”**

 

“Quit panicking, Mishima. So we’re being chased by some thieves, we have horses now we’re fine!” Junpei waves his hand as the group starts galloping to the next town.

 

“We wouldn’t be in this mess if  _ someone _ hadn’t tried to flirt with the Thief Queen!” Yosuke glares at Joker who is trying his best to ignore him as he scratches his left cheek.

 

“If I’m being honest, I only told him to do that as a joke. I didn’t expect him to actually do it.” Minato shrugs.

 

“Between you and Aigis I can’t say who’s jokes are worse..” Yukari draws her bow and fires at some of the thieves. 

 

“Well this proves two things, One: We’re bad at haggling. Two: We’re bad a flirting. This is a great learning experience.” Yu nods with a smile.

 

“Learning experience my ASS! We’re gonna get killed if you don’t start taking this seriously!” Ryuji takes out his gun and fires best he can on horseback.

 

“Hey wait, where’s Zen?” Ann looks around only to find him charging the pursuers with his horse, firing his crossbow at them as he goes.

 

“Shouldn’t we assist him?” Ken asks, watching.

 

“No, it’s too risky for us all to go.” Mitsuru states. 

 

Futaba’s ringtone echos through the group’s coms.

 

_ “Uh-oh. Sojiro’s calling me! I’m gonna mute and take this. Try not to die while I’m gone.” _

 

“Wait, Futaba!” Makoto tries to stop her but it’s too late. “Lovely..”

 

“I wonder why the Chief called..” Morgana thinks out loud. 

 

“We need to keep going! If we reach the town we’ll be safe! ..I hope..” Naoto shakes her head.

 

_ Sumaru City _

 

As the duo get closer to the convention, Sho can already hear music being played by some popular band. It’s loud and a bit too cheerful for his tastes. Hikari on the other hand seems to be humming along to the song.

 

“So uh...you like that band or something?” Sho asks, trying his best attempt at small talk. The struggle is clear on his face.

 

“Mhm! They’re a local group here in the city. They have a few albums that sold, but it’s mostly underground outside of here.” 

 

“Huh, guess I wouldn’t know them then. What’s their name?”

 

“Gas Chamber. Apparently the whole group is comprised of friends that met at a shrine, or so the story goes.” Hikari’s eyes have that spark in them again. “A story like that would make for a cool movie right?”

 

“I...guess?” Sho’s eyes squint as he looks at the people on stage. No doubt about it...the lead singer and keyboardist are both Persona users. But the type of feeling they’re giving off is strange to him. 

 

“This is different from normal. I sense it but...it’s like it  _ wants  _ me to…”

 

“You’re mumbling again, Sho.” Hikari sighs.

 

“Eh? Sorry, I guess? I’m just trying to get my bearings is all. Gas Chamber though, kinda sounds a bit edgy for a band that plays this kinda music, don’t you think?” Sho keeps watching the group.

 

“I think it’s a cool name!” Hikari giggles.

 

“Do they normally talk to fans after their sets?” The red-head puts his free hand on his hip.

 

“They should! Why?” The white haired girl tilts her head.

“I need to ask them...if they saw anything related to the abduction.” And quiz them about their Personas too, Sho thinks to himself.

 

“Good idea! They’re high enough up there they’d probably see anything!”

 

“Yeah.” Sho nods.

 

“Hey uh, I know we haven’t known each other for too long but..I’m having trouble seeing the concert so do you mind...uh..”

 

The free Wild Card tilts his head, unaware of what she’s asking of him. “Do I mind...what?”

 

“Helping me see better?” She shuffles her feet. “I’ve never gotten to see them live and…”

 

“...do you have shorts on under your skirt?” He asks, a bit suddenly and blunt.

 

“U-Uh..yes! I learned fairly quickly to do that.”

 

Without another question, Sho puts Hikari on his shoulders. He couldn’t risk her eyewitness report to leave, so while he hated wasting time he needed to comply to her requests. They just needed to wait for the concert to end, right?

 

_ Olympus _

 

The group has finally managed to evade the Thief Queen and her subordinates. Giving their horses a chance to actually rest, everyone leans up against a large tree to get their bearings.

 

“Okay, from this point on  _ no one lets Joker flirt.  _ For the sake of our lives.” Youske is glaring daggers at Minato. “That goes double for you!”

 

“Hey, did Futaba ever unmute?” Ryuji looks around.

 

_ “Sorry, Sojiro wouldn’t let me hang up! He’s really worried. But he just told me something you all should hear. Leblanc got the wildest visitor!” _

 

“Futaba, this isn’t the right time for idlechitcha-”

_ “Kei Nanjo!” _

 

Mitsuru’s eyebrows raise, knowing the name well. “What was Nanjo-san doing in LeBlanc?” 

 

_ “Apparently he was looking for the Phantom Thieves. His close friend went missing. I think Sojiro said his name was Naoya Toudou or something like that?”  _

 

“You think this might be related to what Sho told us last night?” Akihiko folds his arms and closes his eyes. “The Nanjo group works parallel to Kirijo, so Toudou could have been targeted to get info out of the current head…”

 

“That would be plausible, but that wouldn’t explain the other kidnapping in Sumaru. Unlike with where Toudou-san’s friendship is, we know nothing about this Police Officer and what connections he could have.” Makoto adds.

 

_ “Well we can tell Sho the dude’s name and see if he can come back to Tokyo for clues instead of hiking all the way to that other town.” _

 

“Good idea. Well, have we rested enough?” Junpei looks to everyone. “Let’s get back to it!”

 

Everyone gets back on their horses and they keep riding onward. But a figure begins to follow them as they go...

 

_ Sumaru City _

 

Hikari had been on Sho’s shoulders for about Twenty minutes now. If he was alone, he could have gotten at least six testimonies by now. But he needed to keep his biggest intel source nearby. 

 

With nothing really to do while this was going on, he starts to focus a bit on the band. His mind goes back to when he was stalking the Investigation Team and the performance they did for Junes. It had been the first live concert Sho had ever seen in his life, and this group here reminded him so much of that day.

 

“Is this what it’s like...to have actual bonds forged by friendship?” He thinks out loud, sighing when he reminds himself that it would be impossible to form a friendship like Narukami had. Not after all he’s been through.

Hikari hums along to the music, clearly enjoying herself. Sho makes a note of it, and tries to now listen to the lyrics. But his focus keeps being taken back to the vibes the two main leads give off. He sighs once again in frustration. 

 

“Everything okay, Sho?” Hikari asks, a bit concerned. “If I’m too heavy you can always put me down.”

 

“Nah, you’re fine. I’m just...not used to events like this is all. I uh...never left the house often when I was younger.” He keeps questioning why he’s feeling so inclined to speak to this girl more than should be needed. What was it about her? And Sae before her as well. This was an odd feeling for him for sure..

 

“Did your parents not let you go to things like this?” She asks innocently.

 

“...yeah.” He reflects on his one chance to interrogate his ‘father’ after everything had happened back in Inaba. Why is he even thinking about this? The bastard used his need for a parental figure to make him a tool and…

 

“Oh! Seems like that was the last song. Seems like they’re getting off stage now.” Sho is shaken out of his reflective mind as he then lets Hikari back down as gently as he can.

 

“Do we need to go up to them right away or..?” Sho crosses his arms and cocks his head as he speaks.

 

“They’ll come out for meet and greets after a little bit.” Hikari seems sure about her statement. “Let’s use this time to talk to the people around us.”

 

Sho and Hikari begin to question people about the abduction, but Sho’s lack of proper socialization left him coming off as a bit more violent with is questions. 

 

“Look, dude we need to get even a sliver of info. I have people back in Tokyo who are needing this, so cough up what you know or-”

 

“Okay okay! All I know is there was a reporter who saw the event as well! But no one’s seen her around the area since.” 

 

Hikari shakes her head. “That’s false info. Sho, you need to be a bit kinder when asking questions. Like this.” 

 

She walks up to a young man her age. “Um..excuse me. I’m trying to help my friend solve the case about Officer Suou’s abduction. Would you happen to know anything?”

 

“I don’t know much more than what’s been said. But people can’t seem to agree on which Suou brother it was that was abducted. Both are in the force after all.”

 

“That info is good enough. Thanks!”

 

Sho nods. “Seems the details are good enough. If we run outta info here, we could go to the station and talk to whichever brother is there.”

 

“You both are looking into that abudtion too?” An older woman’s voice states. “Care to tell me which magazine you’re working for?”

 

The duo turn around to see who’s speaking to them and Hikari’s eyes light up. “Ah! You’re Maya Amano, aren’t you? It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am!”

 

“Am..I supposed to know this chick?” Sho squints a bit.

 

“Current head of Coolest at your service!” Maya smiles, placing a hand on her hip. “Although...I’m not investigating this incident for the magazine. Something told me that this was something a lot bigger than just a police officer being taken.”

 

“Yeah, that’s why I’m looking into it too. We’re actually trying to see if the members of Gas Chamber know anything.” Sho glances up at the empty stage.

 

“They were rehearsing at the time of the abduction…” Maya nods. “Well if we’re all trying to figure out the same thing, why not work together to solve this case?”

 

“I don’t really want more head-” But before Sho can say anything, Hikari speaks up.

 

“We’d be honored to have you onboard!” 

 

Great, now he’s stuck with two overly energetic girls. Can his day get any worse?

 

_ Olympus _

 

With nothing chasing the team to their knowledge, they ride at a leisurely pace. Ren closes his eyes and takes a calm breath. “You know, after we solve all of this...I want to have Olympus remade to just be for us.”

 

“Why?” Yosuke asks, riding up close to the Phantom.

 

“A world like this, with no crisis or urgency, it’d make the best stress reliever.” Ren opens his eyes as he looks to the clouds.

 

“I must agree, when there’s no shadows or other enemies around, the world in here feels like any sort of Fantasy book you can imagine. Spending an hour or two in here after a long day of work might be the best for the mind.” Haru nods.

 

“Yeah. You don’t even need to fight anything if you don’t want to. We could just farm, tame horses, or just lay in the grass.” Minato pets his horse as he speaks.

 

“I’ve never been the biggest fan of Video Games but, I can see where this might help some people. Especially people in our line of work.” Akihiko moves a bit ahead of Ren. 

 

_ “After we save the day, I’ll figure out how to make this place our own haven!”  _ Futaba giggles.

 

“I’m looking forward to it then, Futaba-chan.” Yu smiles.

 

The grass then rustles and everyone halts their horses.

 

“Do you guys sense that?” Naoto looks around.

 

_ “It’s Teal! And it looks like he brought back up this time! I’m picking up a second Persona user. And this one’s a lot stronger then even Teal!”  _ Rise begins to scan the area more.  _ “I can’t pick up the stronger one’s exact loaca-” _

 

A Motorcycle can be heard kicking up dirt at the group, which spooks some of the more nervous horses into flinging their riders. 

 

“What?! I thought this was a fantasy setting!” Yosuke yells, getting up. “Okay, motor head! If you’re gonna play dirty then you’re answering to me!” He gets on his horse and starts to give chase. 

 

“I’m sorry girl, but can you wait here for now?” Makoto pats her horse who seems a bit sad that it’s master is leaving her for a bit. 

 

Hopping down, Makoto smirks. “COME ANAT!” She boards her transformed Persona and follows Yosuke. 

 

_ “Futaba? Is there a way you can hack the system to give the others an advantage against this new guy?”  _ Envoy asks.

 

_ “I could, but the data here is extremely sensitive. I’d be hacking the brains of everyone too and who knows what that could do to them IRL.”  _

 

“We’ll be fine. We just need to destroy that bike.” Minato nods and starts to charge after him. 

 

“I don’t think so!” Teal jumps out and strikes at Minato hard, knocking him off his horse.

 

Minato manages to land on his feet. He whistles for his horse and it manages to ram into Teal as it returns, sending him flying right at Akihiko. 

 

Casually catching him, Akihiko lets out a laugh. “This would be a time for a one liner, right? ...I’m not that good at those.” 

 

“Um, actually Akihiko there is one thing you normally say-” Yukari shakes her head. “N-Nerver mind.“ She draws her bow back and fires, the arrow pinning Teal to a tree by the cape.

 

“Hang in there~” Yukari winks.

 

Yosuke and Makoto have managed to keep pace with the new foe. Now that they have a closer look, they note that he too has a Ranger suit on. 

 

_ “Talk about a retro throwback. New guy here has Red Hawk’s outfit! Like from the first airing of Fetherman.”  _  Futaba sounds impressed.  _ “It lasted way too long. Teal’s is based off of Feather Pheasant from the new show by the way. Yukari’s intel isn’t always good.” _

 

“I tried, okay?!” Yukari shakes her head.

 

Yosuke sighs, ignoring the nerd talk for now. “Hey! Just give up right now man, we don’t want to hurt you!”

 

“...” The Red suited man says nothing, but draws a gun on Yosuke as he keeps on driving.

 

“Save the negotiations for after we’ve stopped his movements, Hanamura-san!” Makoto draws her pistol and starts firing at the tires of the bike.

 

“R-Right!” Yosuke checks his own classes extra items and starts using shirkens on the tires to help out. 

 

“....Persona.” No movements, no actions, just an instant Persona summoning. 

 

As it appears before them, Minato’s eyes widen. He’s seen this Persona already! But…

 

“This is him!” He shouts. “This has to be-” A blast of fire is shot right at him, knocking the blue haired fool off his horse and into a nearby lake. 

 

“Minato!” Junpei dives in after his best friend.

 

Yosuke and Makoto manage to pop the tires of Red’s bike. Unable to move as fast he gets off and draws a sword. “Annoying…”

 

“This guy doesn’t talk much does he?” Yu points out. “It’s kinda weird…”

 

“You’re telling me..” Ren nods. “Well, lets overwhelm him! I just got a glimpse of his Arcana! It’s Sun, so we should be safe.”

 

Everyone begins to charge Red, but if he didn’t have a helmet on you’d note a smirk growing on his face.

 

“Just the Sun? Cute.”

 

_ Sumaru City _

 

The band is finally out and speaking with as many people as they can. Maya seems pumped and leads Sho and Hikari over to them.

 

But Sho can’t shake the feeling. It’s even stronger now. Maya...has a Persona as well. Now wasn’t the time to be worrying, however. Job came before fighting as much as he hated to admit.

 

“If it isn’t Maya-san again.” The lead smirks. “Come to do another interview for Coolest?”

 

“Who are these two, new hires?” The keyboardist asks.

 

“Actually, they’re helping me out with a case. That officer…” 

 

The Keyboardist nods sadly. “I was meaning to go speak with him. I had that...feeling again. Like back at the shrine where I met Michel and Lisa.”

 

Sho rolls his eyes. “Look, sob stories can wait. I need whatever intel you can give me and-”

 

“Hey! Don’t you  _ dare _ go pushing Jun around. If you want our info you better-” But the black haired man holds out a hand to stop him.

 

“No, he’s right. If they’re looking into that man’s disappearance then we shouldn’t be distracting them.”

 

“Your group was rehearsing when it happened right? I got a video of it, but I wasn’t at a good angle to catch everything…” Hikari sighs.

 

“We saw the person who abducted him clear as day from the stage. He seemed to be in a cosplay. But the vibe he gave off was-”

 

“Like a Persona?” Sho tilts his head.

 

“W-Wait how do you…?” Jun looks a bit shocked.

 

“Your power feels different from mine. You got it in a different way, right? All three of you from this city have it.” Sho crosses his arms.

 

“We played the Persona game when we were younger yeah, but…” Jun shakes his head. “What does it have to do with the abduction?!”

 

“That cop probably has a Persona too. And if he’s not here, then I have a feeling I know where he might be.” Sho looks at all of them. “Can you all come to Tokyo with me? I’ll need as much back up as I can get.”

 

“Back up, you expect us to get in a fight?” Maya tilts her head. “It’s just an abudtion how bad can it-”

 

“This is on a large scale. And we’re about the only people who can deal with it. If you all are too chicken then, whatever. I’ll get the guy’s name and leave.” Sho starts to leave, but Jun places a hand on his arm.

 

“We’re coming. This could be my one chance to meet that man. It’s a feeling I have. I won’t allow it to pass me by.”

 

A woman runs up, waving her arms. “Waaaaaaaait! If you guys are going, take me too! Scar-face here said he needed Persona users right?” 

 

“Lisa, are you sure?” Jun tilts her head.

 

“If I don’t go, who knows what’ll happen.”

 

Hikari looks at all of them. “I don’t have one of those...Persona things. Should..I just stay behind?” 

 

Sho kneels down a bit and tiredly shakes his head. “We need you still. Plus you not having a Persona just means you...uh...have other ways to help.”

 

Maya nods. “Yeah! Like keeping morale high.”

 

“Morale...you’re right! I’ll do my best!”

 

“Phew. Well uh, if all of you are ready lets head to the station and get a name, then we can move out to Tokyo.”

 

_ Olympus _

 

Red starts to summon another Persona. 

 

“This one’s Hanged man!” Yu yells. “Is he another wild card?!”

“No, his power feels different. Hm…?” Minato looks.

 

A voice seems to be reaching out to the group as a red suited Persona glitches into view. 

 

“Free..HIM…Free…. _ us. _ ”

 

“Free?” Ren blinks. “So it is mind control. ...don’t worry Red. We’ll save you!”

 

The Wild Cards all band together as Yosuke and Makoto block the area behind, trying to make it impossible to escape.

 

“Die.” Red tilts his head as his Persona charges at Minato. 

 

Meanwhile Teal struggles to get free. Chie and Akihiko watch him carefully. “Should we try to unmask him?” 

 

Akihiko shrugs. “We probally should.”

 

Chie grabs the helm, and Teal seems to freeze up. “Hm? What’s up with you, blue? Thought you were a tough guy.”

 

“Get your hands...away…” He tries to pull away, but Chie casually puts a foot on his stomach. 

 

“Yeah, wow, you’re super tense. Off goes the helmet!” She takes it off only to gasp. 

 

“KOU?!”

 

_ Sumaru City, Police Department.  _

 

Sho seems tense walking in, looking at all the police officers around. Hikari and Maya go up to the desk, leaving Lisa with the other guys.

 

“You know, you never mentioned where you’re from.” ‘Michel’ points out. “You said Tokyo, but I’m guessing that’s not where you’re from.”

 

“...Tatsumi.” Sho really would rather fight right now.

 

“Oh? Isn’t that the artificial island?” Jun raises an eyebrow. “Interesting.”

 

Hikari and Maya are speaking with the other Suou officer. 

 

“And that’s why we came here.” Maya concludes.

 

“Well..it’s true my brother Tatsuya was the one taken, but you shouldn’t get yourselves involved in police business. Last thing any of us here want is for more people to be abducted.”

 

Jun raises his head up, hearing the name of the brother. “Tatsuya...that name feels familiar….”

 

Lisa nods. “Yeah. Like we should know it somehow…”

 

Sho is confused, why wouldn’t they recall someone if they knew them? Maybe something really is up.

 

“We were just wanting to know to give a more accurate report is all.” Maya makes a shooing hand. “Let’s go guys, don’t want to bother them anymore then we need to!”

 

They all head out, Sho leaning against a wall. “So have we hit a wall?”

 

“Nope! All we needed is a name right? Tatsuya Suou. From there we just need to head to Tokyo right? Let’s get going then!”

 

“Wait, but isn’t that waaaay far out?” Lisa points out. “Howre we gonna get there.”

 

Sho shakes his head. “I have transportation. Give me a sec.” He takes out his phone and calls Labrys. 

 

_ “Sho-kun I hope this is important.”  _ Labrys states.  _ “We’re in the middle of engaging two Persona users.” _

 

“Can you just get that maid to fly over here? I have back up. We’re gonna go find this...Tatsuya guy, the cop.”

 

_ “And why can’t you do it yourself?”  _ Labrys sounds really tired.

 

“I don’t save numbers from anyone from that group.”

 

_ “And yet you have mine. And I live there.”  _

 

“Okay okay! Just...do it.” Sho shakes his head and hangs up.

 

“Was that your girlfriend on the other end, Sho?” Hikari giggles.

 

“No! We’re just co-workers okay!”

 

All they needed to do was wait for the chopper.

 

_ Olympus _

 

“But wait, how...WHY?!” Chie seems confused.

 

“I don’t..know who you are talking about. This name...is not me.” Kou looks at Chie right in the eyes, and she notes a pink tint that glows yellow at times.

 

“It’s some sorta brainjack…” 

 

Minato nods. “That means Red is the same way, right? How do you get rid of control spells again?”

 

“By punching them. That’s how Ren got you out of yours.” Yu looks at Ren who’s blushing.

 

“I meant to slap him okay?!”

 

Yosuke sighs. “Well punch or slap won’t do if the guy has a helmet on.” He twirls his kunai and throws them at the Red suited user. “Hey asshole! Over here!”

 

Red charges him, giving the wild cards enough time to dog pile him. 

 

“AGH! Narukami did you have to land on  _ me?!”  _ Minato complains.

 

“Sorry! But lets unmask him!” 

 

They rip the helm off, and see a face none of them know.

“Well time for a wake up call!” Ren smirks as all three wild cards go for the punch.

 

“So sorry for this, Kou-kun!” Chie goes to slap him.

 

_ The Black Fort _

 

**_Teal and Red have both gone offline_ **

 

“Tch, I’ve lost two out of my five. Very well...the rest of you...new change in plans. Absorb the .exe files into your weapons. Should they truly wish to destroy my world, they must destroy other humans to do so..”

 

The suited figures nod as they bow before leaving.

 

“Fail me, and I will not rest until your corpses hang from my rafters.”

 

_ The Fields of Olympus _

 

‘Teal’ and ‘Red’ both hold their heads. They seem disoriented. 

 

“Where...am I?” Red states. “A Field? But I was just at Ceni-Con…” 

 

“And...where’s Ai and Daiksuke? We were all together and-” Kou starts to get up, only to yelp in pain. “W-Why am I hurting?”

 

“I guess we went too rough…” Chie lowers her head. “You guys were kidnapped by the Weapon that framed Minato-san.”

 

“Weapon? Framed? Can you explain?” Red asks.

 

“Of course! Might as well let you know..uh..”

 

“Tatsuya.” He states bluntly, which catches Chie off guard.

 

“Geez, you remind me of Yu-kun.”

 

They start to fill in the duo of the goings on, both of them taking a bit to fully grasp it all.

 

“So they took us for our Persona potential?” Kou questions. “I didn’t even know I could get one.”

 

“Well since we’re stuck in the enemy hold, we may not be able to assist you all for too long.” Tatsuya sighs. “But I’ll do what I can for now. There are others trapped here right?”

 

_ “Leave your safety in my hands! Super Move, code protection!”  _ Kou and Tatsuya glow faintly.

 

“Hey! I thought you said you couldn’t hack any of us because it’d be risky.” Ryuji objects.

 

_ “Well this was only on their pods. Only I can open them now. They’re safe.”  _

 

“Hopefully we can save the other three…” Kou sighs.

 

“So we were abducted..” Tatsuya sighs, shaking his head. “And it’s because I have a Persona?” 

 

“Yeah. You uh, know what those are right?” Ryuji asks, hopeful.

 

“Yeah. Rumors of a ‘Persona Game’ were common where I was from so I tried it out as a dare and got mine. Is that how you all got yours as well?” 

 

They all blink. It was seriously  _ that simple? _

 

“I uh, guess it’s different for everyone?” Yu shrugs, before yawning.

 

“You look tired, Narukami..” Kou states, shaking his head. “You should prolly rest.”

 

_ “I think we all should. We did just fight two Persona users, so we’re all pooped.”  _ Futaba explains.

 

“Wait, if you all leave, then what will we do? Now that we’re out of...that thing’s mind control, we can’t exactly leave the pod without getting attacked. And if they were smart, they probably took my gun…” Tatsuya looks to the sky.

 

_ “Well if you sleep in this world you’ll be asleep in general.”  _ Rise points out.  _ “You’ll be safe! Don’t worry!” _

 

“Well if you say so…” Kou shakes his head.

 

The group logs out, leaving Kou and Tatsuya alone.

 

“Persona...huh?” Kou puts a hand on his chest. “Maybe now I’ll be able to tell Chie…”

 

_ Unnamed Building _

 

As everyone starts to head to bed, Ren sets up something in his room. Seems he had brought a guitar with him from home, keeping it safe in the TV world. Casually, thinking he’s alone he begins to play.

 

The cords seem to have a feeling behind them, of mixed emotions and mystique. While he keeps going, he hits play as an accompanying beat on his laptop rings out. He takes a breath.

 

“ _ Where have you been? _

_  Been searching all along _

_  Came facing twilight on and on  _

_  Without a clue  _

 

_ Without a sign  _

_ Without grasping yet  _

_ The real question to be asked  _

_ Where have I been?  _

 

_ I'm a shape shifter  _

_ At Poe's masquerade  _

_ Hiding both face and mind _

_ All free for you to draw  _

 

_ I'm a shape shifter  _

_ What else should I be?  _

_ Please don't take off my mask  _

_ Revealing dark... _ ”

 

It’s a quiet, yet clearly, pracited song. He sounds confident, in the quiet echoing area of the building. Is it Joker lending aide perhaps? Or maybe it’s just his assumed solitude?

 

But the others can hear him from downstairs, and even Rise is impressed as she quietly nods her head as Ren contenues on with the song.

 

“Should one of us tell him?” Labrys whispers, looking towards the direction of the sound. 

 

“I do not think that would be the wisest choice.” Aigis states, smiling. “If we were to inform him, we may never hear it again.” 

 

Morgana leans back in his chair. “Ren always does this when he needs to destress. Did this while he was in Shujin a lot. I’d curl up and pretend to be asleep as he’d write a few songs.”

 

“He should do something for Junes!” Teddie beams. “With talent like that, maybe people won’t be so mean to him…”

 

“I wouldn’t force him Ted. But this song...it kinda feels connected to what’s going on right now..” Yosuke shakes his head. “Or I’m just tired.”

 

“Maybe we should call it a night then?” Minato suggests, but looking around he sees that no one wants to head upstairs until Ren finishes.

 

Envoy watches from a distance as the group takes in the remainder of Ren’s ‘Secret’ performance. He sighs, and slips out without a sound.

 

The city has been drenched in rain in the timeframe, as puddles surround the young man wherever he goes. Cloudy skies beckon his mind to reflect on foggy memories and his situation. 

 

“My emotions are human, yet my body is not. That song was filled with emotion, yet unlike even Aigis and Labrys, it didn’t move me…” He shakes his head. “Can I just not be normal, even in their definition?”

 

“And why would being normal change anything? You’d still be helpless.” A voice speaks from ahead.

 

“That voice...I know it..” Envoy takes a step back, water rolling off a slanted roof and drenching his brown hair.

 

A harsh step forward is heard as a puddle vibrates with loud wetness, and a purple glow illuminates any nearby bodies of water. A thin figure smirks within this light. 

 

“You did surprisingly well, evading me for as long as you did, Envoy. But it wasn’t enough to evade; you now try to help humans destroy my world? How hurtful…” 

“Why do even care?” He barks back, leaning up against a building as if wishing to phase through it. “Zagarus right? You pursued me...but for what?”

 

“You’ve forgotten already? How annoying. Seems you were smart enough to lock your own memories…” The Anti-Shadow Weapon hisses. “Nonetheless, I came here to look for where your ‘friends’ were hidden. They’re on the run from the Police, yes?”

 

“Because you informed them…” Envoy is out of options. If he can just keep talking…

 

But Zagarus takes a step forward, with no intent on stopping. “Well, I didn’t. But someone under me did.”

 

Another step, the two are almost face to face now. The glasses of the thin android glow faintly with that haunting purple, as water droplets roll off the ends of the glass.

 

“Now, if you don’t mind telling me where your allies are, I could aide in recovering your lost memories.” He puts his thin hand on Envoy’s synthetic cheek. The cold wet metal feels almost wrong..

 

“I...refuse.” Envoy is wincing, eyes closed in fear of what may happen.

 

A harsh clicking sound is heard, followed by a snap as a bolt is fired right at the wall, sticking into it. Zagarus looks over his shoulder as he sees a hooded Zen glaring daggers at him.

 

“Release him.” Zen demands, loading bolts now into both Crossbow. 

 

“Tch, the anomaly…” Removing his hand from Envoy, Zagarus begins to scan Zen to gain data on him, only for a bolt to be shot at him, knocking his glasses off.

 

“Leave.” Zen stands between Zagarus and Envoy as he aims a crossbow right at the Weapon’s head. 

 

“....” Picking up his glasses and casually cleaning the dirt and water off, Zagarus puts them back on. “As fun as fighting you would be, there is an order to my chaos. So, I shall spare you for now.”

 

He starts to leave, but Zen isn’t about to let down his guard. Zag looks back, a smirk on his face. “I hope to see you within my world at some point,  _ Brother _ .”

Envoy lets out a pained gasp, holding his head which turns Zen’s attention to him completely. 

 

_ Location Unknown _

 

_ “Come on! We just need to add the last few touches to it!”  _

 

_ “That side’s too lumpy, Ruo!” _

 

_ Two giggling kids, a sandbox in the middle of a quiet town. _

 

_ “Hm...it needs a name…” _

 

_ “A...name?” _

 

_ “It is gonna be our kingdom, right? All kingdoms have names!” _

 

_ They’re both smiling as they think, though their appearance is blurry and not completely viewable.  _

 

_ “Oh! We learned about Greek my-to-goly at school! There was a cool name they mentioned!”  _

 

_ “Olympus? That Mountain where the gods live?” _

 

_ “Yeah! The Kingdom of Olympus!”  _

 

_ The children laugh, pleased with their name. _

 

_ “But...won’t this just get destroyed when we leave?” The child seems, saddened. _

 

_ “Hmm...then why don’t we make up a story? Every time the kingdom's castle is destroyed, one of the two princes has to rebuild it! And each time, it becomes stronger!”  _

 

_ “Hehe! Doesn’t that mean we have to come here every day, then Ruo?” _

 

_ “Is that not a good idea then…?”  _

 

_ The child shakes his head, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “It’s awesome. I love the idea.” _

 

_ “Then...we are the two princes of Olympus!” _

 

_ Heavy footsteps approach as the kids look to the source. While their faces are obscured, it’s easy to tell...that they are frightened.  _

 

_ “So this is where you ran off. Naughty children...return to…” _

 

Envoy jolts awake, holding his head. Zen looks him over with concern. 

 

“What...was...who was…” 

 

Zen remains silent, allowing Envoy to calm down. Zen then leads Envoy back, as the inhuman tries to think about what he saw.

 

Who were those children? Who was that man? And...why were they afraid? 

 

Envoy sits in a chair, watching the rain fall. Ryuji, who is unable to sleep, walks up to him.

 

“Zen mentioned you were here. Everything okay, man?” The bleached blond takes a seat next to his new friend.

 

“I...went for a walk and almost got...mugged by a person in an alley. Zen had to save me.” Envoy didn’t wish to speak the truth, not after what he had been told...and what he had seen.

 

“Mugged? Well that Weapon did chase you...hey maybe we can teach you self defence?” Ryuji playfully elbows him. “I can get Chie-san and Akihiko-san on it! Maybe Makoto if she’s awake enough..” 

 

“You’d do that for me?” Envoy’s eyes sparkle.

“Uh, yeah? We’re friends right? I’ll let them know in the morning.”

 

Ryuji heads off, leaving Envoy alone.

 

“Your feelings are just as real as the bonds you make… I think I’m starting to slowly understand that statement…”

 

The following morning, those Ryuji managed to wake up have begun to teach Envoy what they know. 

 

“Now when it comes to basic self-defence you need to know your opponents weak point.” Akihiko folds his arms as he speaks. “Observe your foe and strike as hard as you can.”

 

He demonstrates by punching a punching bag being held by Yosuke as hard a possible with a loud and heavy thud echoing in the room. 

 

“Geez! Any harder and you would have torn the bag! I agreed to help but not like this!” 

 

“I mean if he hit you, it wouldn’t be a total loss.” Chie shrugs.

 

“Moving on…” Makoto sighs. “You need to keep a firm stance as well. But don’t tighten yourself up too much, or it will leave you open.” 

 

She puts her hands on Envoy as she shows him a good stance. “See?”

 

“I think I understand.” Envoy smiles.

 

“Then do what Akihiko-san showed you!” Chie throws her hands in the air. “Sock Yosuke hard!

 

“Wait wait wait I’m not read-”

 

Envoy, punches the bag just like Akihiko did, and a small dent forms in it.

 

“Impressive. There’s a lot of power behind that punch.” Akihiko nods. “Perhaps we can spar after this mission?”

 

“I swear I felt his fist _ through  _ the bag!” Yosuke exclaims.

“Ooor maybe you’re just scared shitless of being punched?” Chie teases.

 

“I told you guys you should have asked Kanji to do this!”

 

Chie shakes her head. “Well, one more thing Envoy. If your attacker’s a guy there is another way you can deal with them. Yosuke can you set the bag down?”

 

“Uhh...okay?” He does so. “What now?”

 

“I want you to grab me like you’re gonna try to abduct me.” 

 

“...I think I know where this is going. But it’s educational so alright.” Yosuke does so, a bit reluctantly.

 

“So he’s got you tight, and you can’t get out of his grip. Well just…” She raises her leg to knee Yosuke. “Strike him right there and he’ll be too focused on the pain to hold onto you.”

 

“...thanks for not actually doing it.” Yosuke breathes a sigh of relief.

 

“I see...but I don’t think this would help with who I faced.” Envoy sighs.

 

Ren eventually wakes up, looking as everyone smiles and waves. They all still recall his performance from last night, but don’t wish to say anything.

 

“Well, we need to head back into Olympus right? Let’s not keep Kou and Tatsuya waiting.” 

 

_ The Skies of Japan _

 

Jun looks out the window as everyone marvels at the helicopter they’re in. 

 

“Wow...amazing. This is Krijo right?” Maya takes a few pictures with her camera. Hikari starts to record footage from the skies. 

 

“Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal.” Sho shrugs. 

 

“You have a huge company’s chopper just a phone call away. It’s kinda a big deal.” Lisa points out. “Are you connected to them in anyway?”

“...just financially.” He speaks in a more quiet tone. 

 

“Wow…” Hikari marvels. 

 

“Well that aside, you said you know where this police officer Jun wanted to meet is being held?” ‘Michel’ states, looking right at Sho. 

 

“Yeah. That Tatsuya guy should be held at Masayoshi Shido’s former place of residence.” He takes out one of his katana as he begins to clean it.

 

“But why would he be held there?” Maya questions. “Isn’t Shido behind bars?”

 

“You folks don’t keep up with the news much, do you?” Sho sighs. 

 

_ “I hate to interrupt your debriefing, Sho-kun, but we have a transmission coming in from a partner of Kirijo’s.”  _ Kikuno’s voice is heard on the intercom. 

 

“Eh? But Mitsuru’s not on this. I can’t answer-”

 

_ “You’ll have to just this once.”  _

 

“If this is a money situation, I’m not gonna do shit just so you know.” Sho gets up and heads to the com, only to see Kei Nanjo on the screen.

 

_ “Hm? Not a face I was expecting to see answer. Who are you and why are you onboard a Kirijo vessel?”  _

 

“Sho Minazuki, I’m...a partner working directly with Mitsuru-san.” As much as he tries to sound professional, stating those words just urk him to no end. 

 

_ “Sho-kun, hm? Well I have a request if you may hear it. Kikuno informed me you intend to head to Shido’s former abode to rescue an abducted Persona user.” _

 

“She told you?! Tch, can’t even trust a maid…” Sho shakes his head.

 

_ “If you will allow me to finish, a friend of mine was also abducted. And he happens to be a Persona user as well. I attempted to request aid from the Phantom Thieves, but was denied their assistance.” _

 

“Seems we found number two outta five then…” Sho mutters. “Well I guess we can pick you up.”

 

_ “Well it’s not just me. I have others along with me. It should greatly assist in their release.” _

 

“I’m gonna guess all of you are Persona users too?” The scar-faced rouge tilts his head in question. 

 

_ “Precisely.”  _

 

Perfect, Sho thinks to himself, a whole mess of Persona users coming right for him. He couldn’t pass up the chance to challenge them. All of them. 

 

“Alright. Send the maid your location and we’ll grab you all. We have a non-user with us by the way, so keep that in mind.”

 

_ “Understood.” _

 

Sho walks back into the main area and sits down. “We’re picking up more people. Friends of my…leader I guess. They’re looking for a missing person as well. And they might both be in the same place.” 

 

“Fine by me, we’re helping them out right?” Maya smiles. 

 

“By the way, you mentioned Personas ...what are they?” Hikari asks.

 

The whole chopper goes silent. 

 

This explanation could take a while.

  
  


_ Olympus _

 

Kou wakes up under a tree and looks around as the ground begins to quiver and shake. Spires appear as the area becomes more vast with stone and rubble.

 

Tatsuya watches as he tries to keep his balance. “What’s going on?!”

 

Shadow begin to form and litter the area, as screams from the populace begin to ring through. It’s becoming clear something bad is going on. 

 

“Where are these Shadows coming from?!” Kou draws his weapon as he gets ready to fight. 

 

“...no. These are Demons.” Tatsuya prepares to fight.

 

“Aren’t they the same thing?!”

 

“No time, we need to fight them off until the others get here. You have a Persona right? Then help me.”

 

They begin to fend off the attacking horde of demons and shadows as the sky begins to blacken with smoke. 

 

What could be keeping the others?

 

Futaba notices the activity on her monitor immediately. “Shit! You guys need to get in and fast!”

 

_ “Kou and Tatsuya are being over run with Shadows!” _

 

_ “You must get to their aide!” _

 

Envoy feels a knot forming. Something is wrong with this…

 

The group heads in and aides the duo. 

 

“Took you long enough!” Tatsuya yells, slicing through a shadow. 

 

“Sorry, we had a slight delay.” Yu retorts backing him up. 

 

“Hey, have you noticed something Narukami? Our class attire is gone!” Minato points out as they fight.

 

“But how, and why?” Kou asks. “We’re still stuck in our Ranger suits!”

 

Akihiko punches a shadow into dust. “We’ll worry about clothing later! We should focus on surviving this round!”

 

“The shadows just keep coming though!” Ryuji shouts, slamming one into the ground. “Are we gonna win this at all?”

 

“We just need to give our all!” Zen keeps pushing forward.

 

“Right. Hey wait, remember when Adachi and Akechi were surrounded by those wolves in the TV?” Mishima reminds the group. “Why don’t we do what we did then?”

 

“And that was…?” Tatsuya asks, tilting his head a bit. 

 

“A concentrated blast on the whole hoard with all of us.”  Makoto explains.

 

“All of you users are nuts...you know that right?” Kou shakes his head. “I’ll help I guess.”

 

They all prepare to summon.

 

**_“PERSONA!”_ **

 

_ Leblanc _

 

Sojiro is closing up shop for the evening. Not much he can really do in this whole crisis, until once again, the phone rings. But this time...it’s an unknown number.

 

“Who could it be this time?” He sighs, answering it. “Hello?”

 

_ “Sakura, yeah?”  _ A gruff yet familiar voice states.

 

“You again? How’d you even get my number?”

 

_ “Ren gave it to me as an emergency contact. But I’m not here to talk casual. ...that project you snooped on our dealings with a few years back. I hear it’s been up and walking.” _

 

“Yeah. Ren and his friends are dealing with it...why?” Sojiro’s eyes focus.

 

_ “I got some inside intel you might want to be privy of. Someone found out about...a record connected to the thing.” _

 

“A record? Like data, or literal?”

 

_ “Data. I didn’t understand the details, but this data seems to be missing. As in stolen.” _

 

“Hmm..” Sojiro nods, adjusting his glasses.

 

_ “If the kid’s out risking his skin to stop that thing...this might be something he needs to know.” _

 

“Thanks for the info, Iwai. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be getting legitimate intel from you of all people…”  Sojiro shakes his head.

 

_ “I didn’t give you the info so you could have it, Agent. I did it for the kid’s sake.” _

 

“Tch, say what you will. But I’ll pass the message.” Sojiro hangs up and finishes closing up shop. 

 

This data, while it’s not a lot of info, it’s enough. The kids can do something with that intel, right?

  
  


_ Kirijo Chopper _

 

Sho sits casually off to the side of the aircraft as Kei and his companions begin to board. The Scar Faced Joker begins to count the amount of people climbing into the chopper.

 

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...no eight people. And that feeling, no doubt they’re Persona users. All of them. 

 

“This could be exciting.” He mutters under his breath with a dark smirk. 

 

He stands up, which causes one person in the group to look at him with concern. 

 

“Why the sudden movements?” His tone comes out slightly awkward, and Sho takes a deeper focus on him.

 

“I just gotta tell our Pilot something. I’m the one in charge here after all.” Sho shakes his head, walking off. 

 

“That guy’s Persona feels...violent almost. Unstable, or is it just how he is? Heh, doesn’t matter…” 

 

He opens the door to the cockpit and leans up against the chair. “Yo, Kikuno. I have a request for you.”

 

“That tone of yours suggests it is not a positive one.”

 

“Where’s the largest open field you can land in? I’m not completely sure I can trust a group as large as this.” He sounds serious as he speaks, making a side glance to them as they all talk amongst each other and to Hikari. 

 

“A large field?” She pulls up a map and begins to look with scary closeness. “It seems that the closest one to our current coradance is fairly far away. Such a flight is bound to make everyone on board suspicious.” 

 

“Figures...we’re in Tokyo after all…” Sho shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. They’ll understand.”

 

“Are you planning to fight them, Master Sho?” She asks, closing one eye coyly. 

 

“Tch.” He looks away.

 

“Very well, I’ll head to the location.” She starts to get ready to depart. 

 

Sho walks out, and everyone looks at him. 

 

“Are we going to be taking off soon?” Jun questions.

 

“Yeah, but we’re taking a slight detour.” 

 

One man stands up, clearly annoyed. “Look, we don’t have time for detours. Naorin’s trapped in god knows where and having something done to him!” 

 

“Calm down, Masao. There is probably good reason as to why.” Kei sighs, shaking his head. “I swear, I thought moving to New York would have made you at least a bit sensible..” 

 

“Look, I just have to make sure of something about each and every one of you.” Sho takes a seat. “I don’t know any of you from Jack...or Jill.”

 

The room goes silent.

 

“You were supposed to laugh. ...ah whatever! Point is, I know nothing about any of you, and the vibes your Persona give me aren’t making me have much faith in any of you either. They’re either fearce, stagnant, or lacking much presence.” He draws one of his Katana and points them at the group.  “So I want to make sure I can trust you all.”

 

“And how do you plan to go about that?” Lisa asks, arms folded.

 

“Simple. Prove to me that you all can work in a team and fight me.” 

 

“W-Wait! Fight?” Hikari gasps. “But Sho...that’s dangerous!” 

 

“It’ll be fine, kid.” Sho laughs. “I’m a stuntman, remember?” 

 

Hikari pauses for a second before she realizes he made a joke and begins to laugh a bit herself. “Hehehe!”

 

“Keep that camera of yours rolling, okay? I want to see this fight in a replay.” 

 

“Now hold on a moment!” Maya interrupts. “We haven’t even agreed to your terms yet, don’t go acting like you have our consent.”

 

“Your clearly armed, as for us..none of us appear to have weapons.” Kei points out. “It would be very unfair of us to fight without the proper gear.”

 

The Maid steps out and pushes a button, revealing a wall of weapons. “There are all sorts of weapons here for your choosing. Pick what suits you the most.” She then returns to the cockpit and they take off.

 

They had no reason to back down now, and Sho knew it well.

 

The location was set, the field a good ways out of Tokyo. There was plenty of space for fighting, with the only issue being the law. 

 

Hikari is nearly bouncing in her seat with a mixture of excitement and worry. Would any one get hurt? What about these ‘Persona’ they keep mentioning? 

 

As she’s wondering this however, Sho is focused hard. The flight would be a bit long, so this gave him a chance to observe how willing these older folks were. Glancing at each of them, he could get different vibes.

 

“Michel” and Jun both seemed reluctant, as if neither of them have ever fought before. The same could be said for the other people he picked up in Sumaru.

 

But Kei and his crew? They looked like they knew what they were doing, as each person seemed to be steeling themselves for combat. 

 

Not quite sure what this endresult would be had him excited and a bit worried. They were in dire need of serious back up, and if even one person in this group couldn’t pull their weight then it could be deadly for everyone.

 

Especially Hikari…

 

He suddenly blinks. Why was he worried about this kid? Hell why did he even let her come along? She doesn’t really have any reason to come anymore! 

 

“This chopper better hurry the hell up…” Sho mutters under his breath.

 

_ Olympus _

 

The shadow’s smoke covers the field as several members of the group begin to cough. 

 

“Ugh, we’re in a virtual space! Why would the smoke bother us now?” Ryuji complains, putting his mask on his head while he wipes his eyes.

“Shadow smoke isn’t normally an irritant...this must mean something else is going on.” Mitsuru wonders, letting out another cough.

 

Envoy suddenly gasps, which startles everyone.  _ “Guys! In the smoke! ...it’s him!” _

 

_ “Scanning! Damnit I’m only picking up the shadows!”  _ Futaba exclaims, the clacking on the keyboard becoming harder to the point it’s picking up on her com feed.

 

“You’ve been very annoying, Envoy. Allowing these humans to influence you. Why do you keep siding with such scum?” The voice echoes in the shadowy mist.

 

“Stop hiding and show yourself!” Tatsuya demands, getting into a ready stance.

 

“Red, so you’ll take up arms? ...no matter. Hurting you will do nothing to my dear other half.” Red eyes glow, fixating on Ryuji. “He, on the other hand…”

 

Wires shoot out, entangling Ryuji’s bad leg as he is dragged on the ground faster than he or anyone could react.

 

“WHAT THE-” is all he can manage to gasp out as the virtual wind is knocked out of his lungs. 

 

_ “RYUJI!” _

 

The black fog lifts, to show Zagarus holding Ryuji’s unconscious body by the head with his free hand shifted into a blade aimed right at his stomach.

 

“Let him go…” Joker draws his gun, as everyone’s JRPG outfits shift into their normal attire. “We refuse to play this game anymore.”

 

“Oh? We haven’t even finished the prologue yet, my friend!” He goes to stab Ryuji.

 

But suddenly, a figure sparks into the area.

 

_ “Envoy?!”  _ Labrys gasps.

 

_ “We told you not to connect!”  _ Aigis adds.

 

“Let him...GO!” Envoy kicks Zagerus, causing him to drop Ryuji onto the grass.

The other however, just laughs as a smile grows on his face. 

 

“Was this truly all I needed to do? You were always so gullible...brother.”

 

Olympus’s environment starts to gain a leaking like effect, like ink melting out.

 

“Wait...what’s going on?!” Mishima panics, staying close to Zen who can’t seem to figure out the cause either.

 

“We should try to get out of here while we can!” Yosuke states.

 

_ “About that...your pods are permanently locked! It has an odd message on it saying-”  _

 

“New World In Development…” Envoy states, in almost a drone like tone. “Zagarus...what did you just do?!”

 

The sirens in the chopper blair, everyone looking around in a panic.

 

“What’s going on?!” Maya runs to a window and gasps. “What the hell…”

 

Everyone else looks out a window, only to see what looks like glitching tiles and black ink covering the whole area.

 

Hikari is recording everything, in awe in what’s going on. When suddenly…

 

“HIKARI GET DOWN!” Sho tackles her to the ground as a shadow suddenly appears. 

 

“So much for that test of trust…” Jun sighs, getting ready to fight.

 

“New test, make sure the kid doesn’t get hurt. If any of you let a single shadow touch her, I’ll kick you off this plane myself!” Sho gets into a fighting stance. 

 

“Better keep that camera rolling, Hikari-chan cause this will be a fight worth filming!”

 

Guns and weapons are aimed and let loose as shadows start to pile into the chopper, tearing apart seats and ripping at the walls. 

 

Each Persona user does their hardest to fend them off, but lack of teamwork among the two groups is already causing issues, with no one agreeing to target a different shadow.

“Great, I already miss the cheesy friendship speeches Narukami gives. At least they  _ worked _ .” Sho pushes past Lisa and Kei to cut into five shadows before turning around and back hand punching another.

 

“Whoa…” Hikari’s eyes sparkle behind her camera in pure awe and excitement.

 

“Alright, if you guys aren’t gonna work well then listen to me! Kei’s group focus on the flying Shadows. Shoot their wings and then strike them down. Maya’s group, focus on the stationary ones. If I end up killing more than you, you better be ready to hear it hard from me.” This felt different, yet somehow it also felt right. 

 

A word seems to crawl up Sho’s neck and into his mind. Journey. Was this finally it? 

 

“Tch, this is one weird way to start off an adventure. GO!” 

 

The other Persona users, now huddling as close to Envoy as they can, watch as what seems like a swarm of locusts fill the air, tearing through the very sky they gaze upon as if it were paper...revealing the real world.

 

“This has been our dream long desired, Envoy...you and I...we made a promise! Do you now remember?” Zagarus’s now disembodied voice echos.

 

“Promise...no. What are you saying?! I’d never make a promise to a dastard like you!” His hands bawl into fists, tight enough to hear his metal creek.

 

“Hmph. As the only true equal to me, I’d expect you’d remember that much. It seems the humans have indeed poisoned your mind. Very well, PERISH WITH THE REST OF THESE LOWLY PERSONA CALLERS!”

 

The locust swarm divebombs the group, causing panic and confusion among them all. The Navigators have lost all connections to their teams, and have begun to worry.

 

Sojiro takes one look out the door of Leblanc, and has to clean his glasses to make sure what he’s seeing is real.

 

“I thought we were done with Tokyo being messed with...but what the hell is all of this ink?” His voice is now tired. While he’s still worried, he has faith in the kids. 

 

“That weapon they’re tailing...is that the cause…?”


End file.
